Shortjaw goatfish

📖 Overview

Shortjaw goatfish (Upeneus brevignathus), first described by Uiblein & Bailly, 2024 is a small fish in the family Mullidae (order Mulliformes). Adults typically reach 9.50 cm in maximum length. It inhabits marine coastal and open-ocean environments. It occurs in Tropical waters. It feeds on a mix of small fish and invertebrates as a mid-level predator.

🔬 Taxonomy

🐟 Physical Description

Dorsal fins VII + 9; pectoral fins 14-15; gill rakers 7-8 + 21-22 = 28-30; lateral-line scales 29-30; body moderately elongate; measurements as % SL: body depth at first dorsal-fin origin 23-24; body depth at anal-fin origin 20-22; cau- dal-peduncle depth 9.5-9.7; caudal-peduncle width 4.0-4.1; maximum head depth 17; head depth through eye 14; head length 27; snout length 10; orbit length 6.3; upper-jaw length 9.3-9.5; barbel length 18; caudal-fin length 28; anal-fin height 16-17; pelvic-fin length 20; pectoral-fin length 19-20; pectoral-fin width 4.4-4.5; first dorsal-fin height 18-19; dor- sal-fin spines proportionally decreasing in height; second dorsal-fin height 16; caudal fin of preserved fish with at least 9 total oblique bars, upper caudal-fin lobe with 5 dark-grey bars of about pupil width, the four most proximal bars vari- ably curved, no bar on lobe tip; lower caudal-fin lobe with at least 4 dark-grey bars of pupil width or wider, three bars from ventral margin to about mid-lobe, one at lobe tip; dor- sal fins with three grey stripes; barbels pale; body and head from snout tip dark brown-grey dorsally, pale brown ven- trally from eye level; head with a vertically oriented silvery band behind eye that widens below eye and gill cover sil- very or pale-beige silvery; no indication of mid-lateral body stripe; paired and anal fins pale-brown, partly hyaline

🌀 Behaviour

Behavioural data for Shortjaw goatfish is currently being reviewed.

🦐 Diet

🥚 Reproduction

🌍 Habitat & Distribution

Marine; demersal. Tropical Indian Ocean: Yemen.

🌿 Ecology

📐 Morphometrics

🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance

📊 Population Risk & Fisheries

🐠 Related Species

🔍 Similar Species

👥 Community & Contribute