Striped beakfish

Striped beakfish
Conservation status
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Oplegnathidae
Genus: Oplegnathus
Species: O. fasciatus
Binomial name
Oplegnathus fasciatus
(Temminck & Schlegel, 1844)
Synonyms
  • Scaradon fasciatus Temminck & Schlegel, 1844

Oplegnathus fasciatus, the barred knifejaw or striped beakfish, is a species of knifejaw native to the northwestern Pacific Ocean though there area a smattering of records from other localities in the eastern Pacific such as Hawaii and Chile. It is an inhabitant of rocky reefs and occurs at depths of from 1 to 10 metres (3.3 to 32.8 ft). Juvenile members of this species can be found with patches of drifting seaweed. This species can reach a length of 80 centimetres (31 in) TL with the greatest recorded weight for this species of 6.4 kilograms (14 lb). The color pattern consists of light and dark vertical bars from which it derives its name. It has been recorded as feeding on hard-shelled invertebrates such as crustaceans and molluscs. It is a commercially important species and is also farmed. It is also sought after as a game fish.[1] A striped beakfish is the surviving specimen of five striped beakfish that endured more than two years in the partially submerged hull of the Japanese boat Sai-shou-maru.[2][3]

References