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Hawaiian Fishes 



THE MARIPOSA, OPAH, OR MOONFISH FAMILY 



55 Family Lampridae 

 This family contains a single species called the opah or moonfish. It 

 is a fish of large size and brilliant color inhabiting the open sea of the 

 Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. 



Opah or Moonfish 



Also known as the Mariposa, Cravo, Jerusalem Haddock, 

 and San Pedro Fish 



55-1 Lampris regius (Bonaterre) 



Plate I, Figure 9 



The body of this fish is short and deep and the sides are strongly 

 compressed. The skeleton is strong and there are no teeth. The fish is 

 described as colored with a rich brocade of silver and lilac, rosy on the 

 belly, and everywhere covered with round silvery spots. The jaws and 

 the fins are vermillion. 



The fish will reach a length of six feet and weighs 600 pounds. The 

 moonfish feeds on young fishes, cuttlefish and crustaceans. The flesh of 



