#opah

[karroana]

old digital studies, from back when i was using photoshop mainly :')

[herpsandbirds]

Opah or Moonfish (Lampris guttatus), family Lampridae, order Lampriformes, found in oceans around the world

This fish is capable of whole body endothermy (warm-bloodedness).

This is the only fish that is known to be capable of this. Some other fishes, like tunas and some sharks, are capable of "regional endothermy".

photograph by Ralph Pace (NOAA Fisheries)

[worrywyrms]

o p a h

[theslyvoid9]

School work from a few months ago

[aquatark]

Opah - The Abyss

Endless Ocean, Nintendo Wii

i hope opahs receive the recognition that their cousin, the ocean sunfish, has one day...

[tabbertbellingsworth]

#337 Southern Moonfish

[coyotegutz]

had some extra paint left on my palette that i didn’t want to waste, so here’s a moonfish 𓆟

[livinseas2]

Edit: this is an archive blog now, blog has moved to livinseas

Opah are a fish that I always hoped to see while working in fisheries science, but I sadly wasn't lucky enough. They are not only visually striking, but also physiologically and behaviorally fascinating. While they may appear somewhat awkward and clumsy with their deep keel and narrow body, Opah are in fact graceful, high-speed, pelagic predators like tuna and swordfish.

During my undergrad, I took a course on fish physiology. We learned about different morphological characteristics and swimming styles of fish, and how these can indicate different life history patterns. For example, the high-drag blocky tail and rounded, flexible pectoral fins of a rockfish point to a more bottom-dwelling, sessile lifestyle. Opahs share a lot of physical traits with other pelagic, high-speed hunters, including lift-generating pectoral fins and a lunate tail for maximum drag reduction.

(As a side note, if you're a colossal nerd like me, it's very fun to relate how the aerodynamics of fish fins compares to vehicles, like planes or Formula 1 cars. 🐟✈️🏎️ A tuna is sort of a right side-up airplane and an upside-down F1 car, although tunas kind of have a DRS system like a F1 car. Very fun to think about, but fundamentally useless 😓).

Sources:

• Cooper, R. (2019). Characterizing patterns of opah (Lampris spp.) catch-per-unit-effort in the eastern North Pacific Ocean.

• Franck, J. P., Slight-Simcoe, E., & Wegner, N. C. (2019). Endothermy in the smalleye opah (Lampris incognitus): a potential role for the uncoupling protein sarcolipin. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology, 233, 48-52.

• Lampris incognitus - Underkoffler, Luers, Hyde & Craig, 2018. GBIF. Retrieved 22 September, 2025, from https://www.gbif.org/species/9756644

• Rosenblatt, R. H., & Johnson, G. D. (1976). Anatomical considerations of pectoral swimming in the opah, Lampris guttatus. Copeia, 1976(2), 367-370.

• Underkoffler, K. E., Luers, M. A., Hyde, J. R., & Craig, M. T. (2018). A taxonomic review of Lampris guttatus (Brünnich 1788)(Lampridiformes; Lampridae) with descriptions of three new species. Zootaxa, 4413(3), 551-566.

• Wegner, N. C., Snodgrass, O. E., Dewar, H., & Hyde, J. R. (2015). Whole-body endothermy in a mesopelagic fish, the opah, Lampris guttatus. Science, 348(6236), 786-789.

• Westneat, M. W. (1996). Functional morphology of aquatic flight in fishes: kinematics, electromyography, and mechanical modeling of labriform locomotion. American Zoologist, 36(6), 582-598.