Hippoglossina oblonga

Last updated

Fourspot flounder
Fourspottedflounder.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Pleuronectiformes
Family: Paralichthyidae
Genus: Hippoglossina
Species:
H. oblonga
Binomial name
Hippoglossina oblonga
(Mitchill, 1815) [2]
Synonyms [2]
  • Paralichthys oblongus(Mitchill, 1815)
  • Pleuronectes oblongusMitchill, 1815

Hippoglossina oblonga (the fourspot flounder, American fourspot flounder or simply four-spot), is a flatfish and member of the large-tooth flounder family Paralichthyidae. This species has been placed in the genus Paralichthys by some authorities. [2]

Contents

Description

As with most left-eye flounders they can change the color and pattern of their dark side to match the surrounding bottom, and are also capable of rapidly burrowing into muddy or sandy bottoms. The back, which may vary in overall color from light brown to dark gray, is marked with four large and quite conspicuous black "eye-like" spots edged with a much lighter color, two of them situated at each margin of the body. The teeth are sharp and well developed. The underside is pale pinkish, almost translucent in certain areas. Data collected from fishing trawlers suggests adults average about 10 to 12 inches long with 16 inches likely being the maximum size. Adults are predatory and mostly piscivorous, preying on any small fish such as sand lance and Atlantic silverside, as well as squid.

Habitat

A range in the western Atlantic from the Gulf of Maine, and perhaps as far north as Nova Scotia, south to Florida, preferring water depths of at least 12 fathoms and as far out as to the continental shelf. Little is documented of the breeding and seasonal migratory habits of this fish.

Commercial fishing, angling, and food quality

The fourspot flounder is most often taken commercially by fishing trawlers. Due to its small size and lack of abundance inshore it is not prized or even well known by recreational anglers who may often mistake this flounder for its relative the Summer Flounder Paralichthys dentatus , as it shares a similar offshore range, appearance, and feeding habits. In addition to the obvious four spots and more translucent underside, the fourspot flounder can also be identified from the Summer Flounder by its slightly more elongated shape and proportionately larger eyes. The meat is white and considered to have a very mild taste like that of the summer flounder and southern flounder ( Paralichthys lethostigma ).

Related Research Articles

Flounder Group of flatfish species

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.

Halibut Common name for three species of edible flatfish fish

Halibut is the common name for three flatfish in the genera Hippoglossus and Reinhardtius from the family of right-eye flounders and, in some regions, and less commonly, other species of large flatfish.

Black sea bass Species of fish

The black sea bass is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea bass from the subfamily Serraninae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the groupers and anthias. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean where it is an important species for commercial and recreational fisheries.

Black crappie Species of fish

The black crappie is a freshwater fish found in North America, one of the two crappies. It is very similar to the white crappie in size, shape, and habits, except that it is darker, with a pattern of black spots.

Atlantic wreckfish Species of fish

The Atlantic wreckfish,, also known as the stone bass or bass groper, is a marine, bathydemersal, and oceanodromous ray-finned fish in the family Polyprionidae. It has a worldwide, if disjunct, distribution in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.

California halibut 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).

Pacific halibut Species of fish

Hippoglossus stenolepis, the Pacific halibut, is a species of righteye flounder. This very large species of flatfish is native to the North Pacific and is fished by commercial fisheries, sport fishers, and subsistence fishers.

New Zealand sand flounder Species of fish

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.

Winter flounder Species of fish

The winter flounder, also known as the black back, is a right-eyed ("dextral") flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. It is native to coastal waters of the western north Atlantic coast, from Labrador, Canada to Georgia, United States, although it is less common south of Delaware Bay. It is the most common near-shore (shallow-water) flounder in the waters from Newfoundland down through Massachusetts Bay, reaching a maximum size around 61 cm in length and 2.25 kg in weight. The species grows larger on Georges Bank, where they can reach a length of 70 cm and weight of 3.6 kg. Although winter flounder historically supported large commercial and recreational fisheries, biomass and landings have decreased since the 1980s.

Sand devil Species of shark

The sand devil or Atlantic angel shark is a species of angelshark, family Squatinidae, native to the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. It occurs off the eastern United States, in the northern Gulf of Mexico, and possibly in parts of the Caribbean Sea. This bottom-dwelling shark is found in shallow inshore waters in summer and fall, and deep offshore waters in winter and spring. The sand devil's flattened body and enlarged pectoral and pelvic fins give it a ray-like appearance. There is a band of enlarged thorns running along the middle of its back. It is gray or brown in color, with scattered small dark spots. This species reaches 1.2–1.5 m (3.9–4.9 ft) in length.

Witch (righteye flounder) Species of fish

Glyptocephalus cynoglossus, known in English by a variety of common names including the witch, 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.

Yellowtail flounder Species of fish

The yellowtail flounder, also known as the rusty dab or simply flounder, is a species of flatfish in the family Pleuronectidae. Reaching 56 cm (22 in) in length, it has reddish brown upperparts, pale underparts and yellow fins. Both its eyes are on the right (upper) side of its body. Found in the western North Atlantic, it has been fished commercially by North American fisheries for food. A victim of overfishing, the yellowtail flounder is categorized as "Vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Summer flounder Species of fish

The summer flounder 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>Paralichthys lethostigma</i> Species of fish

Paralichthys lethostigma, the southern flounder, is a species of large-tooth flounders native to the eastern and gulf coasts of the United States. It is a popular sports fish and is the largest and most commercially valuable flounder in the western North Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. It is a "left-eyed flounder", meaning the left side is pigmented and is the "up side".

Arctic flounder Species of fish

The Arctic flounder, also known as the Christmas flounder, eelback flounder and Polar plaice, is a flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. It is a demersal fish that lives on coastal mud bottoms in salt, brackish and fresh waters at depths of up to 90 metres (300 ft). Its native habitat is the polar waters of the northeastern Atlantic and Arctic oceans, from the White and Barents seas to the coasts of Siberia in Russia and Queen Maud Gulf in Canada, and from the Chuckchi and Bering seas to Bristol Bay in Alaska and the northern Sea of Okhotsk. It can grow up to 35 centimetres (14 in) in length.

Gulf flounder Species of fish

The Gulf flounder is a species of saltwater flounder.

<i>Paralichthys</i> Genus of fishes

Paralichthys is a genus of large-tooth flounders. Most species are native to the coastal waters of the Americas, but P. olivaceus is from northeast Asia. The largest species reaches about 1.5 m (5 ft) in length.

Bay whiff Species of fish

The bay whiff is part of the family Paralichthyidae. This family is known as "left-eye flounders". They are one of the most common flatfish of the Gulf of Mexico. They are benthic ambush predators with the ability to camouflage themselves on or just below the surface. They are often solitary animals with few individuals. They vary in color from light to dark in life and are brownish in color after death. They have two dark spots on the caudal peduncle and a light spot under the pectoral fin. The average size of the Bay whiff is 15 cm and the maximum recorded length is 20 cm. The lateral line is straight along the body. It has a large mouth. The opercle on the blind side has no cirri. Their pelvic fins are also asymmetrical.

Fourspot flounder or four-spotted flounder is a common name for several fishes and may refer to:

Eyed flounder Species of fish

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.

References

  1. Munroe, T. (2015). "Paralichthys oblongus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2015: e.T16778030A16782068. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T16778030A16782068.en. Downloaded on 20 March 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2014). "Hippoglossina oblonga" in FishBase . October 2014 version.