Opistognathidae

Jawfishes
Yellow-headed jawfish, Opistognathus aurifrons
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Opistognathidae
Genera
Lonchopishtus Merogymnoides Opistognathus Stalix See text for species.

Opistognathidae (opisto = "behind", gnath = "mouth"), commonly referred to as jawfishes, are classified within Order Perciformes, Suborder Percoidei. They are found throughout shallow reef areas of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Physically similar to blennies, jawfish are generally smaller-sized fish with an elongated body plan. Their heads, mouths, and eyes are large in size relative to the rest of their bodies. Jawfish possess a single, long dorsal fin with 9-12 spines and a caudal fin that can be either rounded or pointed.

Jawfish typically reside in burrows that they construct in sandy substrate. They will stuff their mouth with sand and spit it out elsewhere, slowly creating a tunnel. Utilizing the protection of these burrows, these fish will hover feeding on plankton or other small organisms, ready to dart back in at the first sign of danger. They are territorial of the area around their burrows.

Jawfish are mouthbrooders meaning that their eggs hatch in their mouths, where the new-born fry are able to be protected from predators.

Species

As of 2006, there are sixty described species in four genera. There are thought to be many undescribed species.

• Genus Lonchopisthus
  • Lonchopisthus higmani Mead, 1959.
  • Lonchopisthus lemur (Myers, 1935).
  • Lonchopisthus lindneri Ginsburg, 1942.
  • Swordtail jawfish, Lonchopisthus micrognathus (Poey, 1860).
  • Longtailed jawfish, Lonchopisthus sinuscalifornicus Castro-Aguirre & Villavicencio-Garayzar, 1988.
• Genus Merogymnoides
  • Merogymnoides carpentariae Whitley, 1966.
• Genus Opistognathus
  • Yellowhead jawfish, Opistognathus aurifrons (Jordan & Thompson, 1905).
  • Darkfin jawfish, Opistognathus brasiliensis Smith-Vaniz, 1997.
  • Opistognathus castelnaui Bleeker, 1860.
  • Bartail jawfish, Opistognathus cuvierii Valenciennes, 1836.
  • Darwin jawfish, Opistognathus darwiniensis (Macleay, 1878).
  • Opistognathus decorus Smith-Vaniz & Yoshino, 1985.
  • Opistognathus dendriticus (Jordan & Richardson, 1908).
  • Opistognathus evermanni (Jordan & Snyder, 1902).
  • Opistognathus eximius (Ogilby, 1908).
  • Opistognathus fenmutis Acero P. & Franke, 1993.
  • Galapagos jawfish, Opistognathus galapagensis Allen & Robertson, 1991.
  • Yellow jawfish, Opistognathus gilberti Böhlke, 1967.
  • Opistognathus hongkongiensis (Chan, 1968).
  • Opistognathus hopkinsi (Jordan & Snyder, 1902).
  • Black jawfish, Opistognathus inornatus (Ramsay & Ogilby, 1887).
  • Opistognathus iyonis (Jordan & Thompson, 1913).
  • Smiler, Opistognathus jacksoniensis (Macleay, 1881).
  • Blotched jawfish, Opistognathus latitabundus (Whitley, 1937).
  • Roughcheek jawfish, Opistognathus leprocarus Smith-Vaniz, 1997.
  • Opistognathus liturus Smith-Vaniz & Yoshino, 1985.
  • Moustache jawfish, Opistognathus lonchurus (Jordan & Gilbert, 1882).
  • Banded jawfish, Opistognathus macrognathus (Poey, 1860).
  • Opistognathus macrolepis (Peters, 1866).
  • Halfscaled jawfish, Opistognathus margaretae Smith-Vaniz, 1984.
  • Mottled jawfish, Opistognathus maxillosus (Poey, 1860).
  • Largesacle jawfish, Opistognathus megalepis Smith-Vaniz, 1972.
  • Yellowmouth jawfish, Opistognathus melachasme Smith-Vaniz, 1972.
  • Mexican jawfish, Opistognathus mexicanus Allen & Robertson, 1991.
  • Robust jawfish, Opistognathus muscatensis (Boulenger, 1887).
  • Birdled jawfish, Opistognathus nigromarginatus Rüppell, 1830.
  • Opistognathus nothus Smith-Vaniz, 1997.
  • Panamanian jawfish, Opistognathus panamaensis Allen & Robertson, 1991.
  • Papuan jawfish, Opistognathus papuensis (Bleeker, 1868).
  • Finespotted jawfish, Opistognathus punctatus (Peters, 1869).
  • Leopard jawfish, Opistognathus reticulatus (McKay, 1969).
  • Giant jawfish, Opistognathus rhomaleus (Jordan & Gilbert, 1882).
  • Spotfin jawfish, Opistognathus robinsi Smith-Vaniz, 1997.
  • Opistognathus rosenbergii Bleeker, 1857.
  • Blue-spotted jawfish, Opistognathus rosenblatti Allen & Robertson, 1991.
  • Bullseye jawfish, Opistognathus scops (Jenkins & Evermann, 1889).
  • Opistognathus signatus Smith-Vaniz, 1997.
  • Opistognathus solorensis Bleeker, 1853.
  • Dusky jawfish, Opistognathus whitehursti (Longley, 1927).
• Genus Stalix
  • Stalix davidsheni Klausewitz, 1985.
  • Stalix dicra Smith-Vaniz, 1989.
  • Stalix eremia Smith-Vaniz, 1989.
  • Stalix flavida Smith-Vaniz, 1989.
  • Stalix histrio Jordan & Snyder, 1902.
  • Stalix immaculata Xu & Zhan, 1980.
  • Stalix moenensis (Popta, 1922).
  • Oman jawfish, Stalix omanensis Norman, 1939.
  • Stalix sheni Smith-Vaniz, 1989.
  • Stalix toyoshio Shinohara, 1999.
  • Stalix versluysi (Weber, 1913).

References

• Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Opistognathidae" in FishBase. January 2006 version.