Yellowhead jawfish
Opistognathus aurifrons
- Usual depth8–23 m
- Water temperature24–28 °C
- Best monthsJune
- How commonCommon
Photo credit: (c) Brian Gratwicke, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The yellowhead jawfish is a species of jawfish native to coral reefs in the Caribbean Sea. They can be found at depths of from 3 to 40 metres. The head and upper body are a light, but brilliant, yellow color slowly fading to a pearlescent blue hue. They can reach a length of 10 centimetres (3.9 in) TL. Yellowhead jawfishes are common in Florida. The Jawfishes live in rubble areas and sand in groups of up to 70 individuals.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Yellowhead jawfish”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 57 records
- February: 40 records
- March: 54 records
- April: 60 records
- May: 1,328 records
- June: 4,437 records
- July: 1,911 records
- August: 1,275 records
- September: 599 records
- October: 233 records
- November: 131 records
- December: 72 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 8–23 m · Deepest record: 43 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 24–28 °C
Photos
(c) Pauline Walsh Jacobson, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Pauline Walsh Jacobson · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Daniel Z, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) jakeschneider00, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) Bart, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Pauline Walsh Jacobson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Pauline Walsh Jacobson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Alicia Christman, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Yellowhead jawfish, Jack in the box, yellowhead jawfish, Yellowhead Jawfish
Names in 4 more languages
- German
- Goldstirn-Kieferfisch
- Spanish
- bocón cabeza amarilla, guardián cabeziamarillo, Traganavi Dorado, Traganavis Dorado
- French
- Marionnette tête d'or, Marionnette tête d’or
- Simplified Chinese
- 黃頭後頜鰧
Other scientific names: Gnathypops aurifrons, Opisthognathus aurifrons
Similar species
Darwin JawfishOpistognathus darwiniensis
Dendritic JawfishOpistognathus dendriticus
Robust jawfishOpistognathus muscatensis
Birdled jawfishOpistognathus nigromarginatus
Finespotted jawfishOpistognathus punctatus
Black Cap JawfishOpistognathus randalli
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 9,937 open-data records from 1886 to 2021.
- Species data updated November 5, 2026.
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