Ancylopsetta quadrocellata
Ocellated Flounder
NS
G5
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Pleuronectfiormes (Flatfishes)
Paralichthyidae (Sand Flounders)
Ancylopsetta
Ancylopsetta quadrocellata (Ocellated 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
Relatively deep bodied, with several anterior dorsal fin rays slightly elongated, pelvic fin on ocular side slightly longer than one on blind side. Lower eye is slightly anterior to upper eye. Maxilla extends slightly beyond center of pupil. Jaws and teeth are equally developed on each side. Jaw teeth are caninelike, larger anteriorly than posteriorly, and arranged in a single row. Gill rakers on first gill arch are short and blunt and number two or three on upper limb and six or seven on lower limb. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 25%–32%, snout length 4%– 6%, eye diameter 5%– 6%, upper jaw length 10%–12%, ocular-side pectoral fin length 16%–19%, body depth 53%– 63%. Pectoral fin on ocular side has 10 to 12 rays. Dorsal fin has 67 to 76 rays, with second through fifth to seventh slightly elongated. Pelvic fin bases are short and insert on either side of ventral midline. Anal fin has 54 to 61 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 80 to 90. Vertebrae number 35 to 37: 10 precaudal and 25 to 27 caudal (Atlantic specimens have 11 precaudal vertebrae).
Ocular side is brown, with four ocellated spots possessing white centers. Anteriormost ocellus is located over curved section of lateral line, and the other three 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 uniformly white.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from North Carolina to Jupiter Inlet, FL, and in the Gulf of Mexico from the Dry Tortugas to Campeche
Habitat Associations
Depths less than 91 m
Biology
Food consists of crustaceans, including stomatopods, ostracods, mysids, amphipods, and brachyurans (Heterocrypta, Portunus, and Parthenops), and ray-finned fishes (Myrophis punctatus)
Maximum known size is 250 mm TL
Spawning occurs in late fall and winter in the Gulf of Mexico
Occurs in bays, lagoons and shallow coastal waters.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2013-01-31. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
References
Hildebrand 1955
Springer and Woodburn 1960
Gutherz 1966
Gutherz 1967
Topp and Hoff 1972
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
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.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Stickney, R.R., G.L. Taylor and R.W. Heard III (1974) Food habits of Georgia eastuarine fishes. I. Four species of flounders (Pleuronectiformes: Bothidae). Fish. Bull. 72(2):515-525.
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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