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Knifejaws
Oplegnathus
Oplegnathus is currently the sole recognized genus in the knifejaw family (Oplegnathidae) of marine centrarchiform ray-finned fishes. The largest, the Cape knifejaw, can reach a maximum length around 90 cm (35 in). Knifejaws have teeth fused into a parrot-like beak in adulthood. They feed on barnacles and mollusks, and are fished commercially. They are native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
The earliest records of knifejaws are fossilized beaks, with attached teeth, known from middle Eocene-aged sediments of the La Meseta Formation of Antarctica. Their early occurrence in Antarctica supports it having temperate climate during the Eocene, and that knifejaws had a wider distribution in the past than today.
7 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 7 known species
Barred Knifejaw
speciesOplegnathus fasciatus
Spotted Knifejaw
speciesOplegnathus punctatus
Cape Knifejaw
speciesOplegnathus conwayi
Pacific Beakfish
speciesOplegnathus insignis
Natal Knifejaw
speciesOplegnathus robinsoni
Knifejaw
speciesOplegnathus woodwardi
Oplegnathus peaolopesi
speciesOplegnathus peaolopesi
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Oplegnathus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 84178.