| Etropus microstomus | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Pleuronectiformes |
| Family: | Paralichthyidae |
| Genus: | Etropus |
| Species: | E. microstomus |
| Binomial name | |
| Etropus microstomus (Gill, 1864) | |
| Synonyms | |
Citharichthys microstomusGill, 1864 | |
Etropus microstomus, the smallmouth flounder, is a species of fish belonging to the family Paralichthyidae.
The smallmouth flounder is a lefteyed flatfish, and is therefore very thin when lying on its side. Its mouth and eyes lie on the same side of its body, and are small compared to the rest of its head, and the lateral line has approximately 41 to 45 scales. The left pelvic fin lies below the lateral line, about one quarter down its body. The smallmouth flounder has 13 rakers on its first gill arch. It is usually colored olive brownish with a white blind side, and it can grow up to 5 inches long.
The species ranges from New York to Virginia, and has occasionally been seen farther south.
Flounders are a group of flatfish species. They are demersal fish, found at the bottom of oceans around the world; some species will also enter estuaries.
The spotted bass, also called spotty, or spots in various fishing communities, is a species of freshwater fish of the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of the order Perciformes. One of the black basses, it is native to the Mississippi River basin and across the Gulf states, from central Texas through the Florida panhandle. Its native range extends into the western Mid-Atlantic states and it has been introduced into western North Carolina and Virginia. It has also been introduced to southern Africa, where it has become established in some isolated waters. It is often mistaken for the similar and more common largemouth bass.
The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus. One of the black basses, it is a popular game fish sought by anglers throughout the temperate zones of North America, and has been spread by stocking—as well as illegal introductions—to many cool-water tributaries and lakes in Canada and more so introduced in the United States. The maximum recorded size is approximately 27 inches and 12 pounds. The smallmouth bass is native to the upper and middle Mississippi River basin, the Saint Lawrence River–Great Lakes system, and up into the Hudson Bay basin. The world record size was 11 lbs and 15 ounces caught in the reservoir Dale Hollow, on the Kentucky—Tennessee border. Its common names include smallmouth, bronzeback, brown bass, brownie, smallie, bronze bass, and bareback bass.
The southernflounders are a small family, Achiropsettidae, of flounders found in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters. There are four genera, each with one species.
The Guadalupe bass is a rare species of fish endemic to the U.S. state of Texas, where it also is the official state fish. It is restricted to creeks and rivers, and is listed as near threatened. Today, most fly fishermen and anglers practice catch-and-release techniques to improve fish populations. The Guadalupe bass is often difficult to distinguish from the smallmouth bass or spotted bass, and the fish is known to hybridize.
Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes. They occupy the sea floors and lake beds, which usually consist of mud, sand, gravel or rocks. In coastal waters they are found on or near the continental shelf, and in deep waters they are found on or near the continental slope or along the continental rise. They are not generally found in the deepest waters, such as abyssal depths or on the abyssal plain, but they can be found around seamounts and islands. The word demersal comes from the Latin demergere, which means to sink.
The starry flounder, also known as the grindstone, emery wheel and long-nosed flounder, is a common flatfish found around the margins of the North Pacific.
The yellowbelly flounder is a flatfish of the genus Rhombosolea, found around New Zealand. A different species from the genus Rhombosolea is found in Australia and also goes by the name yellow-belly flounder. The Māori people have commonly fished for R.leporina, and many other species of flatfish, throughout New Zealand's coastal waters for hundreds of years. The Māori name for this species is 'patiki totara'.
The greenback flounder is a righteye flounder of the genus Rhombosolea, found around southern Australia and New Zealand.
The New Zealand sand flounder is a righteye flounder of the genus Rhombosolea, found around New Zealand in shallow waters down to depths of 100 m.
The leopard flounder or panther flounder, is a flatfish found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
The European flounder is a flatfish of European coastal waters from the White Sea in the north to the Mediterranean and the Black Sea in the south. It has been introduced into the United States and Canada accidentally through transport in ballast water. It is caught and used for human consumption.
The smallmouth scad, is a species of tropical marine fish in the jack family Carangidae. The species is endemic to northern Australia, inhabiting primarily inshore waters. It is similar to other scads in the genus Alepes, and is distinguished by a well-developed posterior adipose eyelid, as well as fin membrane spotting and gill raker counts. It is not a large species, with the maximum length reported to be 29.5 cm. It feeds primarily on a variety of small invertebrates, and is of very minor economic importance.
The plate fish is a flounder in the genus Bothus, found in the warmer parts of the Atlantic including the Caribbean. Its typical habitat is sandy plains near coral reefs and it is able to change its colouring to make it well-camouflaged in this environment. It is sometimes known as the peacock flounder, a name also given to the closely related Bothus mancus from the Indo-Pacific.
The peppered flounder is a flatfish of the family Paralichthodidae and the only species of the genus Paralichthodes. It is a demersal fish that lives on sandy and muddy bottoms in subtropical waters, at depths of up to 100 metres (330 ft). Its native habitat is the southeastern Atlantic and the western Indian Ocean, specifically the African coastline from Mossel Bay, South Africa, to Delagoa Bay, Mozambique. It grows up to 50 centimetres (20 in) in length.
Eastern blacknose dace is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Rhinichthys. Its name originates from the Old French word "dars" which is the nominative form of the word "dart" in reference to their swimming pattern. The western blacknose dace formerly was considered conspecific. While morphologically the two species are not significantly different, they are allopatric. The eastern blacknose dace is found across the southeast portion of Canada and down along the United States' east coast. It is dark brown to olive on its dorsal surface and silvery white below, the two shades separated by the darkly pigmented lateral line. In the breeding season, males develop darker pigmentation and an orange lateral line. Blacknose dace live in rocky streams and rivers where they feed upon small invertebrates and microscopic biological matter and provide forage for larger fish.
The narrow-body righteye flounder is a flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. It is a demersal fish that lives on saltwater bottoms at depths of between 218 and 438 metres. Its natural habitat is the waters of the Indo-West Pacific, from the Bali Strait to Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales in Australia. It can grow up to 15 centimetres (5.9 in) in length.
The eyed flounder is a species of fish in the family Bothidae. The species is found on or near the sandy seabed in relatively shallow waters in the western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
The Gulf Stream flounder is a species of fish belonging to the family Paralichthyidae native to waters off eastern North America.
Pseudorhombus arsius, the largetooth flounder, is a species of left-eyed flatfish, that is the dark side with the eyes on the adult fish is the left side of the fish's body, from the family Paralichthyidae. As Rhombus polyspilos it was named as the type species of the genus Pseudorhombus. It is an Indo-Pacific species and is fished for by both recreational and commercial fisheries.
1. Smith, L. C. The Inland Fishes of New York State. New York: The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. 1985, pp. 454.