Species: Opistognathus fenmutis, Sailfin jawfish
Opistognathus fenmutis Acero & Franke, 1993
Sailfin jawfish
Elongate, compressed, tapering body; large bulbous head, eye large, high; front nostril without cirrus; top margin of operculum straight, without flap at rear; mouth at front, large, extends well to rear of eye; top jaw long, reaches well behind eye, with fringe at rear, pointed tip in female, long blunt extension to belly in male; lips without inner papillae; a triangular patch of 9 teeth at front of roof of mouth; no papillae between tooth rows; 41-47 gill rakers; dorsal fin high and sail-like, middle of spiny part as high as body depth, XI,13; anal fin III, 13; pectoral 20-21; tail fin straight; head and body before base of pectoral fin scaleless, scaly thereafter; 102-105 oblique scale rows; lateral line on front half of body only, high, ends under 3rd dorsal soft ray, 72-73 pores.
Dark grey body and all fins, a little lighter on belly; no obvious color inside mouth; upper tail membranes pale; female paler than male; 3 violet-blue lines along side and another along back just under base of dorsal fin, all reaching to tail; head with 2 blue stripes on side, a blue blotch at top rear corner of operculum, a blue line along top jaw; tail fin with thin blue bar at base and blue lines on membranes between fin rays; pelvic with blue front border; anal fin with blue outer edge and blue on membranes between rays.
Size: 27 cm.
Habitat: burrows in sand and rubble.
Depth: 63-74 m.
Costa Rica to Colombia.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
-
- Marine Only
- Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
-
- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
-
- Bottom only
- Bottom
- Habitat
-
- Soft bottom only
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Sand & gravel
- FishBase Habitat
-
- Demersal
- Feeding Group
-
- Carnivore
- Planktivore
- No Data
- Diet
-
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Pelagic fish larvae
- No Data
- Zooplankton
- Bony fishes
- Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
- Mobile benthic worms
- Egg Type
-
- No data
- Brooded
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
-
- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) endemic
- East Pacific endemic
- All species
- Regional Endemism
-
- Continent
- Continental TEP endemic
- TEP endemic
- All species
- Continent only
- Panamic province endemic
- Residency
-
- Resident
- Climate Zone
-
- Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo)
- IUCN Red List
-
- Listed
- Data deficient
- CITES
-
- Not listed
- Length Max
-
- 27
- Depth Range Min
-
- 60
- Depth Range Max
-
- 75
