Harlequin Jawfish
Stalix histrio
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Actinopterygii
- Order
- Ovalentaria incertae sedis
- Family
- Opistognathidae
- Genus
- Stalix
- Species
- Stalix histrio
The harlequin jawfish (Stalix histrio) is a small jawfish with a large head and mouth, marked with dark bands and pale patches.
It grows to about 9 cm and lives in a burrow in sand or rubble, which it builds and maintains by carrying stones in its mouth. Males brood the eggs in their mouths.
The harlequin jawfish is found in the western Pacific, including the Philippines, where divers find it peering out of burrows on sandy and rubble slopes.