Species: Opistognathus walkeri, Longjaw jawfish
top jaw: pointed, passes opercle
Opistognathus walkeri Bussing & Lavenberg, 2003
Longjaw jawfish
Body compressed, relatively deep; head robust, profile very steep above mouth, flat behind eyes; eyes entering the top profile of the head, pupils pear shaped; no cirrus at front nostril; top margin of operculum straight, rear extended but without a flap; mouth at front, large, top jaw very long, extending past edge of operculum in both sexes in a thin, flexible, curved and pointed extension; no papillae between teeth rows on lower jaw; 2-3 stout teeth at front of roof of mouth; 38-39 gill rakers; dorsal, XI-XII, 12-13; anal III, 11-12; tail fin rounded, shorter than head; pelvic fin with elongate second soft ray in both sexes, which reaches anal fin in male; head, breast and area along base of first few dorsal spines scaleless, base of pectoral fin with a few scales, body scaled thereafter; 61-62 oblique scale rows; lateral line on front half of body only, ends under second dorsal soft ray, 54-55 pores.
Preserved fish: head and body brown, without dark or light markings; median fins of male darker than body, dorsal fin with narrow pale outer edge, and 5 diffuse dark blotches beginning between spines III-IV; soft rays of anal fin dark, with transparent tips; median fins same color as body in female, with outer half of anal fin rays slightly darker; top jaw strongly colored in both sexes, lower border of rear half black and inner membrane of rear 1/3 black, forming a black triangle with extensions forward along the jaw; no obvious color inside mouth.
Size: 13.5 cm.
Habitat: burrows in sand and rubble.
Depth: 21-90 m.
Known only from the central western Gulf of California.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
-
- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
-
- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
-
- Bottom
- Bottom only
- Habitat
-
- Soft bottom only
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Sand & gravel
- FishBase Habitat
-
- Demersal
- Feeding Group
-
- No Data
- Carnivore
- Diet
-
- Bony fishes
- No Data
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Egg Type
-
- Brooded
- No data
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
-
- East Pacific endemic
- All species
- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) endemic
- Regional Endemism
-
- Continent
- All species
- Continent only
- TEP endemic
- Continental TEP endemic
- Cortez province endemic
- Residency
-
- Resident
- Climate Zone
-
- Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap)
- IUCN Red List
-
- Data deficient
- Listed
- CITES
-
- Not listed
- Length Max
-
- 13.5
- Depth Range Min
-
- 21
- Depth Range Max
-
- 90
