| Samaridae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Samariscus corallines | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Pleuronectiformes |
| Family: | Samaridae Jordan & Goss, 1889 |
| Genera [1] | |
Plagiopsetta [2] Contents | |
Samaridae (crested flounders) is a family of crested flounders, small flatfishes native to the Indo-Pacific. The family contains four genera with a total of 29 species.
Samaridae is one of eight families a part of the SuperFamily Soleioidea. This SuperFamily is of the suborder Pleuronectoidei within the order Pleuronectiformes. Samaridae were formerly classified as a subfamily of Pleuronectidae.
Young flat fish are bilaterally symmetrical until they reach between 5 and 120mm in length when one eye shifts from the lower side to the upper side until it is adjacent to the other eye. Adult flat fish swim and lie on the side without eyes. [6]
Adult Samaridae are not bilaterally symmetrical but do have symmetrical pelvic fins. They have a highly compressed body with eyes that bulge above the body surface which allows them to see out while buried beneath a surface. [6]
Samaridae have countershaded coloring with a darker pigment on the top of the fish and a lighter pigment on bottom. They have a stabilizing dorsal fin on top of the fish that stems from a point in front of the eyes. [7] They have a basic lateral line organ to detect the movement of the water around them and lack a postcletherium.
Samaridae can range between 4 and 23 centimeters at length depending on the species. [8] Samaridae have no spines in their fins with a protruding lower jaw and an asymmetrical nose located on the lower side opposite the eyes. [7]
The Samaridae are native to marine areas in the Indo-Pacific region, from South Africa to Hawaii and New Caledonia. They are found in tropical and subtropical areas in deep-water Benthic zones. They are found in saltwater only. [8] Samaridae can also be found near coastal regions with coral reefs up to depths of 150 meters. [8]
Samaridae are negatively buoyant and while they are able to swim through the water column, they spend most of their time on the ocean floor. While swimming, the flatfish keeps its head up through a mechanism of support from the median, pectoral, and pelvic fins. [9]
Samaridae move across the sea floor through propulsion by the tail and assisted by the pectoral fins. Flatfish move into the water column by turning its body and propelling itself upwards through propulsion by the tail and body, and continue to move via the "swim and glide" method of short bursts of propulsion. [9]
One way that Samaridae avoid predation is by burying themselves underneath the sand on the ocean floor. They do this by repeatedly hitting their head and body against the sand so it lifts up and falls down on top of the flatfish. [9] This process lasts only a few seconds and is a very effective tool in avoiding detection by predators.
Samaridae reach sexual maturity between 1 and 15 years of age. [6] Flatfish reproduction takes place over 3 stages: courtship, spawning rise, and a post-spawning return to the sea floor.
In Courtship, male flatfish follow female flatfish to the bottom of the sea floor. If the courtship is successful, they rise above the floor, the gametes are released, and then the flatfish return to the seafloor. [9]
Samaridae are carnivorous. [6] Flatfish are predominantly visual feeders, meaning they use their eyes to scan their environments for prey. Flatfish are able to protrude their eyes and raise their head to enhance their ability to search for prey. [9] Most visual feeders consume free moving prey or sedentary benthic prey. Samaridae also use the lateral line to detect motion in the water and track prey.
Predation by flatfish occurs in 3 stages: Pursuit, Stalking, and Ambush. [9]
Fishing gear and seafloor trawling has an impact on flatfish species. Samaridae do not detect the approaching of trawling gear until it is less than 1 meter away. [10] The net used encourages herding behavior, which lasts around 1 minute and ends when the fish either escapes or is caught in the net. [9]
A decrease in water temperature can lead to slowing muscle contraction and a reduction in the speed and endurance of flatfish, making them easier to catch in trawls. [10]
A flatfish is a member of the ray-finned demersal fish order Pleuronectiformes, also called the Heterosomata, sometimes classified as a suborder of Perciformes. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the head, one or the other migrating through or around the head during development. Some species face their left sides upward, some face their right sides upward, and others face either side upward.
Citharichthys is a genus of flatfish in the large-tooth flounder family, Paralichthyidae. They have both eyes on the left sides of their heads. They are native to the oceans around the Americas, with a single species, C. stampflii off the West African coast. Most are found in relatively shallow depths, but the genus also includes species found in deep water and species that enter fresh water.
The Scophthalmidae are a family of flatfish found in the North Atlantic Ocean, Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and Black Sea. Fish of this family are known commonly as turbots, though this name can refer specifically to Scophthalmus maximus, as well. Some common names found in species of this family are turbots, windowpanes, and brills.
Pleuronectidae, also known as righteye flounders, are a family of flounders. They are called "righteye flounders" because most species lie on the sea bottom on their left sides, with both eyes on their right sides. The Paralichthyidae are the opposite, with their eyes on the left side. A small number of species in Pleuronectidae can also have their eyes on the left side, notably the members of the genus Platichthys.
The European plaice, commonly referred to as simply plaice, is a species of marine flatfish in the genus Pleuronectes of the family Pleuronectidae.
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.
Tonguefishes are flatfish in the family Cynoglossidae. They are distinguished by the presence of a long hook on the snout overhanging the mouth, and the absence of pectoral fins. Their eyes are both on the left side of their bodies, which also lack a pelvic fin. This family has three genera with a total of more than 140 species. The largest reaches a length of 66 cm (26 in), though most species only reach half that size or less. They are found in tropical and subtropical oceans, mainly in shallow waters and estuaries, though some species are found in deep sea floors, and even a few in rivers.
Frogfishes are any member of the anglerfish family Antennariidae, of the order Lophiiformes. Antennariids are known as anglerfish in Australia, where the term "frogfish" refers to members of the unrelated family Batrachoididae. Frogfishes are found in almost all tropical and subtropical oceans and seas around the world, the primary exception being the Mediterranean Sea.
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 pātiki tōtara.
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 New Zealand turbot, Colistium nudipinnis, is a righteye flounder of the subfamily Rhombosoleinae in the family Pleuronectidae, found around New Zealand in shallow enclosed waters.
The yellowtail flounder, also known as the rusty dab, 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.
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 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 Pacific sand sole, also known as simply sand sole, is a flatfish species inhabiting the northeastern Pacific waters where it lives on sandy bottoms. The only species in the genus, Psettichthys, it ranges from the Bering Sea to Northern California.
Rhombosoleidae is a family of flatfish in the order Pleuronectiformes, comprising nine genera and 19 species; all members of this family are right eye flounders with asymmetrical pelvic fins. Species are typically demersal, living on bottoms in temperate marine waters on the continental shelf, although some species of Rhombosolea enter fresh water in New Zealand. Most are restricted to waters around Australia and New Zealand, though the Remo flounder, Oncopterus darwinii, occurs in the southwestern Atlantic and the Indonesian ocellated flounder, Psammodiscus ocellatus, occurs in Indonesia.
Hippoglossina oblonga, is a flatfish and member of the large-tooth flounder family Paralichthyidae. This species has been placed in the genus Paralichthys by some authorities.
Coastal fish, also called inshore fish or neritic fish, inhabit the sea between the shoreline and the edge of the continental shelf. Since the continental shelf is usually less than 200 metres (660 ft) deep, it follows that pelagic coastal fish are generally epipelagic fish, inhabiting the sunlit epipelagic zone. Coastal fish can be contrasted with oceanic fish or offshore fish, which inhabit the deep seas beyond the continental shelves.
The peacock flounder, also known as the flowery flounder, is a species of fish in the family Bothidae. The species is found widely in relatively shallow waters in the Indo-Pacific, also ranging into warmer parts of the East Pacific.
Zebrias is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Soleidae.