Maldives Marine Life

Marine life of Maldivian waters

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Stout jawfish
No photo available
Illustration
Illustration: Homefront / Abacus AI, © Homefront AuctionsOriginal illustration based on published descriptions

Stout jawfish

Opistognathus crassus

Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).

English
Stout jawfish
Scientific
Opistognathus crassus
Dhivehi
No recorded Dhivehi name
Group
Reef fish
Family
Opistognathidae (jawfishes)
Maximum size
Up to about 3.6 cm (standard length)
Depth and habitat
Open water over reefs and the atoll shelf, recorded from 35 to 35 m
IUCN status
DD · Data DeficientData Deficient (DD), assessed 2017

Description

A tiny jawfish with a row of five dark blotches along the back and pale-tipped dorsal spines, reaching under 4 cm. It lives in a burrow on sandy bottoms.

Sources

Dhivehi name source: No Dhivehi name found in MRS 1997 (available chapters), FishBase (country: Maldives) or Dhivehi Wikipedia.