Ancylopsetta dilecta
Three-Eye Flounder
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Pleuronectfiormes (Flatfishes)
Paralichthyidae (Sand Flounders)
Ancylopsetta
Ancylopsetta dilecta (Three-Eye Flounder)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
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Characters
Moderately deep bodied, with several anterior dorsal fin rays elongated, pelvic fin on ocular side longer than fin on blind side. Lower eye is located directly below upper eye. Maxilla extends to center of pupil. Jaws and teeth are equally developed on each side. Jaw teeth are caninelike, larger anteriorly than posteriorly, and in a single row. Gill rakers on first gill arch are moderately long and slender and number one to three on upper limb and six to nine on lower limb. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 25%–31%, snout length 5%–6%, eye diameter 6%–8%, upper jaw length 11%–14%, ocular-side pectoral fin length 17%–20%, body depth 45%–53%. Pectoral fin on ocular side has 10 to 12 rays. Dorsal fin has 68 to 79 rays, with second through sixth or seventh elongated and second or third the longest. Anteriormost dorsal fin rays bear terminal fleshy filaments. Pelvic fin bases are short and insert on either side of ventral midline. Anal fin has 53 to 60 rays. Caudal fin margin is obtusely angled. Scales on both sides of body are ctenoid. Lateral line is strongly arched over pectoral fin base. Lateral line scales number 73 to 82. Vertebrae number 35 to 37: 10 precaudal and 25 to 27 caudal.
Ocular side is tan to pale brown, with numerous spots and blotches and three ocellated spots. Ocelli are in a triangular pattern, with anterior two symmetrically arranged on either side of the lateral line slightly posterior to midlength, and posterior ocellus located on caudal peduncle. Blind side is white.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from North Carolina to Suriname, including the entire Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Between 59 and 366 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 250 mm TL
Occurs in bays, lagoons and shallow coastal waters.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Distinct pairing (Ref. 205). Oviparous (Ref. 101737). Females produce numerous eggs in multiple spawnings during a prolonged spawning period (Ref. 101737).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2013-01-30. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
References
Gutherz 1966
Gutherz 1967
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Matsuura 1983p
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Munroe 2002c
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Uyeno, T., K. Matsuura and E. Fujii (eds.) (1983) Fishes trawled off Suriname and French Guiana. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo, Japan. 519 p.
McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm (2005) Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Vol. 2. Austin : University of Texas Press. viii+1004p.
Moser, H.G. and B.Y. Sumida (1996) Paralichthyidae: Lefteye flounders and sanddabs. p. 1325-1355. In H.G. Moser (ed.) The early stages of fishes in the California Current Region. California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Atlas No. 33. 1505 p.
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