Cyclopsettidae

Cyclopsettidae Temporal range: Late Eocene–present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Pacific sanddab, Citharichthys sordidus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Carangiformes
Suborder:	Pleuronectoidei
Family:	Cyclopsettidae Campbell, Chanet, Chen, Lee & Chen, 2019
Genera
Citharichthys Cyclopsetta Etropus Syacium

Cyclopsettidae is a family of flatfish primarily native to the coastlines of the Americas, with a few species found off the western coast of Africa. Members of this family were previously placed in Paralichthyidae until a 2019 study, which found this placement to be paraphyletic, and described a new family for them. The closest relatives of the Cyclopsettidae are thought to be the Bothidae, based on both genetic and morphological data. ^{[1] [2]}

The following genera are placed in this family: ^[3]

• Citharichthys Bleeker, 1862
• Cyclopsetta Gill, 1889
• Etropus Jordan & Gilbert, 1882
• Syacium Ranzani, 1842

Several species are important commercial and game fishes, such as the Pacific sanddab, Citharichthys sordidus.

The earliest known fossil remains of the Cyclopsettidae are Late Eocene-aged fossil otoliths assigned to Citharichthys altissimus from Louisiana, USA. ^[4]

References

1. Campbell, Matthew A.; Chanet, Bruno; Chen, Jhen-Nien; Lee, Mao-Ying; Chen, Wei-Jen (2019). "Origins and relationships of the Pleuronectoidei: Molecular and morphological analysis of living and fossil taxa". Zoologica Scripta. 48 (5): 640–656. doi:10.1111/zsc.12372. ISSN   1463-6409.
2. Fricke, R.; Eschmeyer, W. N.; Van der Laan, R. (2025). "ESCHMEYER'S CATALOG OF FISHES: CLASSIFICATION". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
3. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Cyclopsettidae". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 16 July 2025.
4. Girone, Angela; Nolf, Dirk (2009-07-01). "Fish otoliths from the Priabonian (Late Eocene) of North Italy and South-East France – Their paleobiogeographical significance" . Revue de Micropaléontologie. 52 (3): 195–218. doi:10.1016/j.revmic.2007.10.006. ISSN   0035-1598.