Species: Opistognathus megalepis, Largescale jawfish
fins - brown edges
inside mouth pale
D spines thin, flexible
Opistognathus megalepis Smith-Vaniz, 1972
Largescale jawfish
Elongate, compressed, tapering body; large bulbous head; eye large, high; front nostril a short tube, without a cirrus; mouth terminal, large, extends well behind eye, its rear end straight, rigid, without a thin, flexible extension; top jaw not sexually dimporphic; gill rakers 28-36; fin spines flexible; dorsal and anal fins with long bases; dorsal XI-XII, 11-12, spines with tips flexible, curved, slender; anal III, 11; pelvic fins I, 5, fin base before the pectoral; tail rounded, much shorter than head; lateral line on front half of body only, high; scales small, smooth; cheeks often scaled; body scaled, 32-42 lateral scale rows.
Head, body and fins yellow, with a light greenish brown cast; rear 1/3 of anal fin brown; rear of tail fin brown; front of dorsal fin brown, rear of fin with brown border; inside mouth pale
Reaches 5.6 cm.
Lives on sand & rubble bottoms.
Depth range: 79-301 m.
The Bahamas to the NW and SE Caribbean.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Bottom only
- Habitat
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- Sand & gravel
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Soft bottom only
- FishBase Habitat
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- Bathydemersal
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Data
- Bony fishes
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Egg Type
-
- Data
- Brooded
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- Greater Caribbean endemic
- West Atlantic Endemic
- All species.
- Regional Endemism
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- Continent + Island (s)
- All species..
- GC endemic
- Continent
- Island (s)
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 5.6
- Depth Range Min
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- 79
- Depth Range Max
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- 301
