Paralichthys lethostigma

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Southern flounder
Paralichthys lethostigma.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Pleuronectiformes
Family: Paralichthyidae
Genus: Paralichthys
Species:
P. lethostigma
Binomial name
Paralichthys lethostigma

Paralichthys lethostigma, the southern flounder, is a species of large-tooth flounder native to the East Coast of the United States and the northern Gulf of Mexico. It is a popular sport fish and is the largest and most commercially valuable flounder in the western North Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. [2] It is a "left-eyed flounder", meaning the left side is pigmented and is the "up side". [3]

Contents

Description

The body color is brown with diffuse, unocellated spots and blotches. [2] This species typically grows to around 12–14 inches (30–36 cm) in length. [4]

Diet

Larval and postlarval southern flounder feed on zooplankton. [2] As a juvenile, the southern flounder's diet consists of small invertebrates, shifting to larger invertebrates and fish as the flounder reaches adult size. Southern flounder feed on the bottom of the ocean and in the water column, and are considered to be near-top predators in their benthic environment. [4]

Habitat

Adult fish breed and spend the warmer season in coastal embayments and nearshore shelf waters, where the eggs develop until they are late stage larvae, which are then pushed by currents into the estuaries where the fish settle into the sediment and grow into juveniles. The juveniles stay in the estuaries until they reach sexual maturity and leave to spawn. [2]

The southern flounder can survive in low salinity and has even been found in freshwater habitats both as a juvenile and as an adult. [5]

Reproduction and life cycle

Juvenile southern flounder stay in estuaries, and most leave to spawn offshore during the fall and winter as adults. Young fish are eventually pushed into the estuaries by ocean currents to mature. Southern flounder reach sexual maturity around two years of age. Older, larger fish tend to begin the spawning migration earlier. [2] Female fish both grow faster and live longer than males. [4]

The annual growth cycle of the southern flounder starts in the spring and ends in the fall as the water temperature decreases. Males live for around 5 years, and females live for around 7–8 years. [4]

Distribution

The southern flounder is distributed along the East Coast of the United States, north to North Carolina, [3] and along the northern Gulf of Mexico, south to Tuxpan, [6] but is not found in far southern Florida or the Florida Keys. [7] A single specimen was reported in 2015 in the Mediterranean Sea off Israel, a likely escapee from mariculture. [8]

This species is listed by the IUCN as near threatened due to both commercial and recreational overfishing, and mortality from the shrimp trawl industry. This species is also affected by habitat destruction from human causes. [1]

Importance to humans

Southern flounders are a major and valuable species in the highly important commercial and recreational flounder fishery in the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the commercial catch in the Gulf of Mexico is incidental to the catch by shrimp trawlers. Recreationally, they can easily be caught by anglers on a line with either a lure or live bait. [2] Another, riskier way of collecting flounders is night gigging. Waders use a gig, or a multi-pronged spear, to impale fish after using a flashlight to spot them in the water at night. This practice is very hazardous due to the possibility of stepping on submerged sharp objects or of impaling dangerous stingrays, which also frequent shallow waters and may be mistaken for flounder. [3]

Southern flounder caught in New Jersey by an angler Southern flounder.jpg
Southern flounder caught in New Jersey by an angler

Southern flounder are also considered valuable as an aquaculture species because of their ability to live in water of varying salinities. Research has been conducted on using soy based protein sources rather than fish meal to grow the fish to reduce environmental impact. [9]

Etymology

The genus name, Paralichthys, is usually interpreted as "parallel fish" in reference to the deeply compressed body shape. However, some interpret it as "close to the sea", from the Greek word, para, meaning beside or near. This can be in reference to the way it buries itself in the sand and lies flat as if it is a part of the sea floor itself. [10] The species name, lethostigma, comes from the Latin word, letho, meaning death, and the Greek word, stigma, meaning spots. The meaning "forgotten spots" or "death of spots" refers to the absence of conspicuous large ocelli (pigmented scaled areas that look like eyes) that are common in other species of flatfish. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black sea bass</span> Species of fish

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red drum</span> Species of fish

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hogchoker</span> Species of flatfish

The hogchoker is a small species of flatfish found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North and South America, ranging from Massachusetts to Venezuela. They prefer brackish water, and are abundant in many bays and estuaries north of the Carolinas. It is a member of the American sole family Achiridae. They are usually brown to dark brown in color, and lighter on their "blind side". The overall body color is often broken by a series of spots and thin stripes, which can be lighter or darker than the main body color. The fins and tail have fringed edges helping hide the fish from its prey. They mainly feed on small aquatic insects and invertebrates. They get their common name because East Coast fishermen would feed these so-called "trash" fish to their hogs, after which the fish would bow its body into a suction cup and stick to the soft palate of the hog, rather like peanut butter in a dog’s mouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California halibut</span> Species of fish

The California halibut or California flounder is a large-tooth flounder native to the waters of the Pacific Coast of North America from the Quillayute River in Washington to Magdalena Bay in Baja California. It feeds near shore and is free swimming. It typically weighs 6 to 30 pounds. It is much smaller than the larger and more northern-ranging Pacific halibut that can reach 300 pounds (140 kg).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spot (fish)</span> Species of fish

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellowbelly flounder</span> Species of fish

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand sand flounder</span> Species of fish

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winter flounder</span> Species of fish

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Witch (righteye flounder)</span> Species of fish

The witch, known in English by a variety of other common names including the witch flounder, pole flounder, craig fluke, Torbay sole, and grey sole, is a species of flatfish from the family Pleuronectidae. It occurs on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean on muddy sea beds in quite deep water. In northern Europe it has some importance in fisheries as a food fish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olive flounder</span> Species of fish

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange-spotted grouper</span> Species of fish

The orange-spotted grouper, also known as the brown-spotted rockcod, estuary cod, estuary rockcod, goldspotted rockcod, greasy cod, North-west groper, orange spotted cod or blue-and-yellow grouper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It has an Indo-Pacific distribution and is found in marine and brackish waters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf grouper</span> Species of fish

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">European flounder</span> Species of fish

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.

<i>Achirus lineatus</i> Species of fish

The lined sole is a ray-finned flatfish found in the Western Atlantic. Its common length is 17 cm. Often considered a trash fish in commercial trawling, it is of little or no economic value.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Summer flounder</span> Species of fish

The summer flounder or fluke is a marine flatfish that is found in the Atlantic Ocean off the East Coast of the United States and Canada. It is especially abundant in waters from North Carolina to Massachusetts.

<i>Hippoglossina oblonga</i> Species of fish

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf flounder</span> Species of fish

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eyed flounder</span> Species of fish

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<i>Pseudorhombus arsius</i> Species of fish

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.

References

  1. 1 2 Munroe, T. (2015). "Paralichthys lethostigma". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2015: e.T202632A46958684. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T202632A46958684.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program. "Paralichthys lethostigma". Indian River Lagoon Species Inventory. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "Southern Flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma)". Texas Parks & Wildlife. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Roumillat, William A. (2005). "Southern Flounder" (PDF). South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  5. Lowe, Michael R.; Devries, Dennis R.; Wright, Russell A.; Ludsin, Stuart A.; Fryer, Brian J. (May 2011). "Otolith Microchemistry Reveals Substantial Use of Freshwater by Southern Flounder in the Northern Gulf of Mexico". Estuaries and Coasts. 34 (3): 630–639. doi:10.1007/s12237-010-9335-9. S2CID   85412773.
  6. Snow, John (2022). "Southern Flounder". Mexico - Fish, Birds, Crabs, Marine Life, Shells and Terrestrial Life. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  7. First Light Net (2012). "Fishing". The OutdoorLodge. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  8. Atlas of Exotic Fishes in the Mediterranean Sea (Paralichthys lethostigma). 2nd Edition. 2021. 366p. CIESM Publishers, Paris, Monaco.https://ciesm.org/atlas/fishes_2nd_edition/Paralichthys_lethostigma.pdf
  9. Alam, M.S.; Watanabe, W.O.; Carroll, P.M.; Gabel, J.E.; Corum, M.A.; Seaton, P.; Wedegaertner, T.C.; Rathore, K.S.; Dowd, M.K. (2018). "Evaluation of genetically-improved (glandless) and genetically-modified low-gossypol cottonseed meal as alternative protein sources in the diet of juvenile southern flounder Paralichthys lethostigma reared in a recirculating aquaculture system". Aquaculture. 489: 36–45. doi:10.1016/j.aquaculture.2018.02.006.
  10. Ross, Stephen T. (2001). Inland Fishes of Mississippi. Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. pp. 525–528.
  11. Mettee, Maurice F.; O'Neil, Patrick E.; Pierson, J. Malcolm. "Lefteye Flounder, from Fishes of Alabama and the Mobile Basin (1996)". Outdoor Alabama. Retrieved 9 October 2022.