| Knifejaws Temporal range: Early Miocene to Present[1] |
|
|---|---|
| Oplegnathus fasciatus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Oplegnathidae |
| Genus: | Oplegnathus Richardson, 1840 |
| Species | |
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See text. |
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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.