Opistognathus aurifrons
Yellowhead Jawfish
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Opistognathidae (Jawfishes)
Opistognathus
Opistognathus aurifrons (Yellowhead Jawfish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: elongated. Body light bluish gray with numerous pale blue dots; head, nape and anterior part of dorsal fin yellow; a pair of black spots often present on chin (Ref. 13442).
Distribution
Western Central Atlantic: southern Florida, USA and Bahamas to Barbados and northern South America.
Habitat Associations
Marine. reef-associated. depth range 3-40 m. Found in: coral reefs.
Biology
Inhabit burrows made of crushed coral or sand. Hovers vertically, above or near its hole. The male courts the female by swimming in an arched position with his fins spread towards her (Ref. 9710). Male broods the eggs orally (Ref. 5521). Has been reared in captivity (Ref. 35427).
Max length: 10.0 cm TL.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; mating system: monogamy; bearers (external brooders); parental care: paternal. Mouthbrooders. Eggs which are clumped together in a sticky ball get incubated inside the male's mouth (Ref. 5521). Monogamous mating is observed irrespective of resource abundance (Ref. 52884).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-01-23.
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Thresher, R.E. (1984) Reproduction in reef fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Neptune City, New Jersey. 399 p.
Nelson, J.S. (1984) Fishes of the world. 2nd edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. 523 p.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Lieske, E. and R. Myers (1994) Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 p.
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p.
Cervigón, F. (1994) Los peces marinos de Venezuela. Volume 3. Fundación Científica Los Roques, Caracas,Venezuela. 295 p.
Whiteman, E.A. and I.M. Côté (2004) Monogamy in marine fishes. Biol. Rev. 79:351-375.
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