Blotched Jawfish, Opistognathus latitabundus (Whitley 1937)

Other Names: Spotted Pug

Blotched Jawfish, Opistognathus latitabundus. Source: Sue Morrison / Western Australian Museum. License: CC BY Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:

A brownish jawfish with 5 large dark blotches along the dorsal-fin base, 6 large dark blotches along the upper side, and yellowish pectoral and pelvic fins.

Cite this page as:

Dianne J. Bray, Opistognathus latitabundus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 22 Jan 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/4478

Blotched Jawfish, Opistognathus latitabundus (Whitley 1937)

More Info

Distribution	Off the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia, to Mackay, Queensland. Also in Papua New Guinea. Inhabits rubble, sand and mud bottoms.
Biology	Jawfishes form monogamous pairs, with males and females living in separate but adjacent burrows. Spawning occurs within the burrow following an elaborate courtship. The male incubates the egg mass in his mouth for up to a week before the larvae hatch. Larvae spend 2-3 weeks in the plankton before settling back to the reef.
Species Citation	Tandya latitabunda Whitley 1937, Rec. Aust. Mus. 20(1): 21, pl. 2(2). Type locality: Port Newry, N of Mackay, QLD.
Author	Dianne J. Bray

Blotched Jawfish, Opistognathus latitabundus (Whitley 1937)

References

Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.

Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.

Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls.

Gloerfelt-Tarp, T. & Kailola, P.J. 1984. Trawled fishes of southern Indonesia and northwestern Australia. Australian Development Assistance Bureau, Australia, Directorate General of Fishes, Indonesia, and German Agency for Technical Cooperation, Federal Republic of Germany. 407 pp.

Marshall, T.C. 1964. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coastal Waters of Queensland. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 566 pp. 136 pls.

Russell, B.C. & Houston, W. 1989. Offshore fishes of the Arafura Sea. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 6(1): 69-84.

Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J. & Leyland, G.G. 1985. Continental Shelf Fishes of Northern and North-Western Australia. Canberra : Fisheries Information Service 375 pp. figs & pls.

Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 2004. Descriptions of Six New Species of Jawfishes (Opistognathidae: Opistognathus) from Australia. Records of the Australian Museum 56: 209-224. PDF Open access

Whitley, G.P. 1937. Studies in Ichthyology No. 10. Records of the Australian Museum 20(1): 3-24 figs 1-5 pl. 2 PDF Open access