spotted beakfish
Oplegnathus punctatus
- Usual depth4–17 m
- Water temperature20–29 °C
- Best monthsSeptember
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) ふうけ, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
About this species
Oplegnathus punctatus, commonly known as the spotted knifejaw, is one of seven species in the Oplegnathidae family of knifejaws. These perciform fish, an order of ray-finned fish that are "perch-like", characteristically have teeth fused into a parrot-like beak during adulthood. They diagnostically have a single dorsal fin and body covered in small scales that are known as ctenoid scales. Knifejaws are typically distributed in the Indian and Western Pacific Ocean, near southern parts of the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan, China, Japan, and Hawaii.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Oplegnathus punctatus”, 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: 10 records
- February: 14 records
- March: 10 records
- April: 24 records
- May: 15 records
- June: 41 records
- July: 67 records
- August: 197 records
- September: 442 records
- October: 163 records
- November: 14 records
- December: 7 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 4–17 m · Deepest record: 142 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 20–29 °C
Photos
(c) Robert Webster, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Robin White, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Robert Webster, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) 胡正恆(Jackson Hu), some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- spotted beakfish, Spotted Knifejaw
Names in 5 more languages
- Spanish
- Pez perico de roca
- Japanese
- Ishigakidai, イシガキダイ
- Korean
- 강담돔
- Thai
- ปลาตะกรับปากนกแก้ว
- Simplified Chinese
- 斑石鯛, 斑鯛, 硬殼仔, 黑嘴
Other scientific names: Hoplognathus punctatus, Opleganthus punctatus, Scaradon punctatus
Similar species
- Barred knifejaw
Oplegnathus fasciatus
- Conway
Oplegnathus woodwardi
Natal knifejawOplegnathus robinsoni
- Mozambique knifejaw
Oplegnathus peaolopesi
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).
- 861 open-data records from 1984 to 2019.
- Species data updated November 5, 2026.
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