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Opistognathus eximius (Ogilby, 1908)

Harlequin smiler
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Opistognathus eximius
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Ovalentaria/misc (Various families in series Ovalentaria) > Opistognathidae (Jawfishes)
Etymology: Opistognathus: Greek, opisthe = behind + Greek, gnathos = jaw (Ref. 45335); to the very elongate upper jaw of the type species of the genus, Opistognathus nigromarginatus (Ref. 128653);  eximius: Name from Latin 'eximius' meaning select, distinguished, uncommon, it was incorrectly stated in the original description to mean “beautiful,” but certainly it is an appropriate adjective for this species..
More on author: Ogilby.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 6 - 35 m (Ref. 128653). Tropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Pacific: Australia.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 28.5 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 128653)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 12; Vertebrae: 26. This species is distinguished by the following characters: with a rigid upper jaw lacking flexible lamina posteriorly, extending about 0.7 to 0.9 eye diameters behind posterior margin of orbit; infraorbitals are very slender and tubular, the third infraorbital very elongate with large suborbital shelf; D XI,13; A II,12; vertebrae 10+16; scales on the belly minute and distinctly embedded; body with about 80-99 scale rows in horizontal series; vomerine teeth 1-3. Colouration: opercle with a conspicuous dark spot; color of sides and anal blue with large yellow spots (Ref. 128653).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occur over sand bottom of the continental shelf (Ref. 75154). Mouthbrooders (Ref. 240). Eggs which are clumped together in a sticky egg ball inside the parent's mouth are sometimes released in a burrow during brief feeding periods (Ref. 40511).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Eggs which are clumped together in a sticky egg ball get incubated inside the parent's mouth (Ref. 40511).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Smith-Vaniz, W.F., 2023. Review of Indo-West Pacific jawfishes (Opistognathus: Opistognathidae), with descriptions of 18 new species. Zootaxa 5252(1):1-180. (Ref. 128653)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)


CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
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Ecology
Ecology
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Length-length rel.
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References

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00180 - 0.00842), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.7   ±0.6 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (25 of 100).