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Opistognathus rosenblatti Allen and Robertson, 1991
BLUE-SPOTTED JAWFISH
Life   Vertebrata   Fish   Opistognathidae   Opistognathus



Opistognathus rosenblatti
© Copyright Clay Bryce, 2006 · 0
Opistognathus rosenblatti

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Opistognathus rosenblatti
© Copyright Gerald Allen, 2006 · 0
Opistognathus rosenblatti
Opistognathus rosenblatti
© Copyright Gerald Allen, 2006 · 0
Opistognathus rosenblatti

Opistognathus rosenblatti
© Copyright Gerald Allen, 2006 · 0
Opistognathus rosenblatti

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IDnature guides
Overview
Main identification features
  • tan + rows large blue spots
  • pectoral: 17-18
Dorsal rays XI,13-14; anal rays II,13-14; pectoral rays 18 (rarely 17); gill rakers on first arch 34-35; end of top jaw straight, without fringe at rear; upper jaw 51-53% of head length, same size in males and females; lips with inner papillae; front of roof of mouth without teeth; no broad flap under operculum; no cirrus at front nostril; body with 65-70 oblique scale rows.

Courting males white anteriorly and blackish on posterior half with large brown spot on anterior part of dorsal fin; females with orange-brown head and dark brown to blackish body, covered with relatively large blue spots; no obvious color inside mouth; small juveniles yellow with blue spots.

Maximum size about 10 cm.

Habitat: found in sandy rubble areas in colonies of up to several hundred fish with a minimal spacing of about 1m between individuals; each fish constructs a lid over their burrow entrance at dusk and rebuilds the opening each morning.

Depth: 5-25 m.

The lower half of Baja and the lower 3/4 of the Gulf of California.


Attributes

Abundance: Common.

Cites: Not listed.

Climate Zone: North Temperate (Californian Province &/or Northern Gulf of California); Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap); Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos).

Depth Range Max: 25 m.

Depth Range Min: 5 m.

Diet: zooplankton; bony fishes; pelagic fish larvae; pelagic fish eggs.

Eastern Pacific Range: Northern limit=30; Southern limit=21; Western limit=-115; Eastern limit=-106; Latitudinal range=9; Longitudinal range=9.

Egg Type: Brooded; Pelagic larva.

Feeding Group: Planktivore.

FishBase Habitat: Demersal.

Global Endemism: Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) endemic; East Pacific endemic; All species.

Habitat: Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom); Sand & gravel; Soft bottom (mud, sand,gravel, beach, estuary & mangrove); Soft bottom only.

Inshore Offshore: Inshore; Inshore Only.

IUCN Red List: Not evaluated / Listed.

Length Max: 10 cm.

Regional Endemism: Continent; Continent only; TEP endemic; Continental TEP endemic; Cortez + Mexican provinces endemic; All species.

Residency: Resident.

Salinity: Marine; Marine Only.

Water Column Position: Bottom; Bottom only;

Names
Scientific source:
Links to other sites


References
  • Allen , G.R. and Robertson, D.R., 1991., Quatre especes nouvelles d'Opisthognathidae (Jawfishes) du Pacifique oriental tropical., Revue Francaise de Aquariologie, 18(2):47-52.
  • Almenara Roldán, S. C., 2000., Demanda internacional en el manejo de especies marinas de ornato. En Aburto Oropeza, O. y C. A. Sánchez Ortiz (Eds.). Recursos arrecifales del Golfo de California, estrategias de manejo para las especies marinas de ornato., Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur:30-38.
  • Bussing, W.A and Lavenberg, R.J., 2003., Four new species of eastern tropical Pacific jawfishes (Opistognathus: Opistognathidae)., Rev. Biol. Trop., 51:529-550.
  • Findley, L.T., Hendrickx, M.E., Brusca, R.C., van der Heiden, A.M., Hastings, P.A., Torre, J., 2003., Diversidad de la Macrofauna Marina del Golfo de California, Mexico., CD-ROM versión 1.0. Projecto de la Macrofauna del Golfo .  Derechos reservados de los autores y Conservación Internacional.
  • Love, M.S., Mecklenburg, C.W., Mecklenburg, T.A., Thorsteinson, L.K., 2005., es of the West Coast and Alaska: a checklist of North Pacific and Artic Ocena species from Baja California to the Alaska-Yukon border., U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, 288pp.
  • Sánchez Ortíz , C. , Arreola Robles , J. L. , Aburto Oropeza , O. and Cortés Hernández, M., 1997., Peces de arrecife en la región de La Paz, B.C.S.. En Urbán Ramírez, J. y M. Ramírez Rodríguez (Eds.). La Bahía de La Paz investigación y conservación., Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur:189-200.
  • Thomson , D.A. , Findley , L.T. and Kerstitch, A.N., 2000., Reef fishes of the Sea of Cortez., University of Texas Press(Revised Ed.):353.


Acknowledgements

I thank Ashley MacDonald and John Pickering, University of Georgia, for technical support in building this page.


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