Overview
Family : Knifejaws ; Usually solitary. Constantly swims over rocky reefs, boulder strewn slopes and along walls. Occurs more commonly in shallow water (Ref. 5227). Feeds on algae and invertebrates (Ref. 28023).
Common Names
Click on the language to view common names.
Common Names in Danish:
Pacifisk Knivkæbefisk, Pacifisk Knivkæbefisk
Common Names in English:
Loro, Pacific Beakfish
Common Names in Mandarin Chinese:
罕石鯛, 罕石鯛, 罕石鲷
Common Names in Spanish:
Loreta, Loro, San Pedro, Tigris, Viernes Santo
Description
Family Oplegnathidae
Distribution: Japan, southern half of Australia to Tasmania, Galapagos and Peru, and South Africa. Teeth fused forming a parrotlike beak in adults . Low spinous dorsal fin in adults. Spinous and soft dorsal fin about the same height and are countinuous in juveniles . Spines in dorsal fin 11 or 12; soft rays 11-22. Three spines in anal fin; 11-16 soft rays. Very small scales . About 0.9 m maximum length . Feed on barnacles and mollusks. Foodfishes. Usually not kept in aquaria . Assumed to be nonguarders (RF).The family Oplegnathidae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes ) and the Order Perciformes. It contains 1 genus and 6 species. It may be found in Marine environments and is primarily Marine. Members of this family are not used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are nonguarders. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is carangiform . Etymology of this family name : Greek, haploos = single + Greek, gnathos = jaw
Habitat
Typically found in water with a depth of 0 to -4,474 meters (0 to -14,678 feet).Mean = -894.330 meters (-2,934.154 feet), Standard Deviation = 3,137.710 based on 3 observations. Ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.
Biome: Saltwater . Reef-associated .
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- Kingdom:
Animalia
()
- Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
()
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Deuterostomia
()
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Chordonia
()
- (Haeckel, 1874) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Phylum:
Chordata
()
- Bateson, 1885
- Chordates
- Subphylum:
Vertebrata
()
- Cuvier, 1812
- Vertebrates
- Infraphylum:
Gnathostomata
()
- Auct.
- Jawed Vertebrates
- Superclass:
Osteichthyes
()
- Huxley, 1880
- Bony Fishes
- Class:
Actinopterygii
()
- Huxley, 1880
- Ray-Finned Fishes
- Subclass:
Actinopterygii
()
- Ray-Finned Fishes
- Infraclass:
Actinopteri
()
- Cohort:
Clupeocephala
()
- Superorder:
Acanthopterygii
()
- Order:
Perciformes
()
-
- Suborder:
Percoidei
()
-
- Family:
Oplegnathidae
()
- Knifejaws
- Genus:
Oplegnathus
()
- (Waite, 1900)
- Specific name:
insignis
- (Kner, 1867)
- Scientific name: - Oplegnathus insignis (Kner, 1867)
- Specific name:
insignis
- (Kner, 1867)
- Genus:
Oplegnathus
(
- Family:
Oplegnathidae
(
- Suborder:
Percoidei
(
- Order:
Perciformes
(
- Superorder:
Acanthopterygii
(
- Cohort:
Clupeocephala
(
- Infraclass:
Actinopteri
(
- Subclass:
Actinopterygii
(
- Class:
Actinopterygii
(
- Superclass:
Osteichthyes
(
- Infraphylum:
Gnathostomata
(
- Subphylum:
Vertebrata
(
- Phylum:
Chordata
(
- Infrakingdom:
Chordonia
(
- Branch:
Deuterostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Unambiguous Synonyms
- Oplegnathus insignis (Kner, 1867)
- Scarostoma insigne Kner, 1867
Notes
Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Data last modified by FishBase 07-Jan-1998
Similar Species
Members of the genus Oplegnathus
There are approximately 8 species in this genus:
O. conwayi (Beaked Galjoen) · O. fasciatus (Striped Beakfish) · O. insignis (Pacific Beakfish) · O. peaolopesi (Mozambique Knifefish) · O. punctatus (Rock Porgy) · O. robinsoni (Natal Knifefish) · O. seymourensis · O. woodwardi (Conway)
Bibliography
- Bearez, P. (1996). Lista de los peces marinos del Ecuador continental. Rev. Biol. Trop. 44(2):731-741.
- Chirichigno, N.F. (1974). Clave para identificar los peces marinos del Peru. Inf. Inst. Mar Perú (44):387 p.
- Humann, P. and N. Deloach (1993). Reef fish identification. Galápagos. New World Publications, Inc., Florida. 267 p.
- Merlen, G. (1988). A field guide to the fishes of Galapagos. Wilmot Books, London, England 60 p.
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Notes
Contributors
- Arratia, Gloria (from FishBase).
- Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 9, 2006.
- FishBase 2006.
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 04, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 4 providers.
- MBLWHOI Library: Universal Biological Index and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 18, 2008.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 04, 2008:
- FishBase: FishBase DiGIR Provider - Philippine Server
- Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History: Vertebrate specimens
- Museum national d'histoire naturelle: Ichtyologie
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University: MCZ Fish Collection
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2497999
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Fis-46980
- Fishbase Species ID: 8200
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 123946
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 645852
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 118861
