Oplegnathidae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Knifejaws Fossil range: Early Miocene to Present[1] |
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Oplegnathidae is a family of marine fish within the Perciformes commonly known as knifejaws; some species are known as beakfish. It contains a single genus, Oplegnathus. The largest, the Cape knifejaw, can reach a maximum length of about 90 cm (35 in). Knifejaws have teeth fused into a parrotlike beak in adulthood. They feed on barnacles and mollusks, and are fished commercially. They are found in the north-western Pacific Ocean (e.g. Japan), in the southern half of Australia, in the Galapagos, Peru, and Chile, and in Southern Africa.
[edit] Species
- Cape knifejaw, Oplegnathus conwayi Richardson, 1840
- Striped beakfish, Oplegnathus fasciatus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844)
- Pacific beakfish, Oplegnathus insignis (Kner, 1867)
- Mozambique knifejaw, Oplegnathus peaolopesi Smith, 1947
- Spotted knifejaw, Oplegnathus punctatus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844)
- Natal knifejaw, Oplegnathus robinsoni Regan, 1916
- Knifejaw, Oplegnathus woodwardi Waite, 1900
[edit] References
- ^ Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology 364: p.560.
- ITIS: Oplegnathidae, accessed August 24, 2006
- FishBase: Family Oplegnathidae - Knifejaws, accessed August 24, 2006
- "Oplegnathus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. June 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
