No photo available
Variable jawfish
Opistognathus variabilis
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Variable jawfish
- Scientific
- Opistognathus variabilis
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 9.6 cm (standard length)
- Depth and habitat
- Open water over reefs and the atoll shelf, recorded from 0 to 37 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2015
Description
A small jawfish with a large head and mouth, reaching about 10 cm. It lives in a burrow it digs and lines with rubble in sand and rubble bottoms, and males brood the eggs in their mouths.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Opistognathus-variabilis.html
- inaturalist.org /observations/190416321
Dhivehi name source: No Dhivehi name found in MRS 1997 (available chapters), FishBase (country: Maldives) or Dhivehi Wikipedia.