Citharichthys arctifrons
Gulf Stream Flounder
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Pleuronectfiormes (Flatfishes)
Paralichthyidae (Sand Flounders)
Citharichthys
Citharichthys arctifrons (Gulf Stream 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 elongate and oval in profile, with a blunt, bony protuberance projecting forward in front of lower eye and eyes separated by a bony ridge. Lower eye is slightly anterior to upper eye. Maxilla extends to below middle of lower eye. Jaws and teeth are equally developed on each side. Jaw teeth are small and uniserial. Gill rakers on first arch are short and stout and number five on upper limb and six to eight on lower limb. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 20%–25%, snout length 3%–4%, eye diameter 5%–7%, upper jaw length 6%–8%, ocular-side pectoral fin length 14%–19%, body depth 34%–43%. Pectoral fin on ocular side has 10 or 11 rays. Dorsal fin has 74 to 83 rays. Pelvic fin bases are short, with that of ocular-side fin on ventral midline and slightly posterior to that of blind-side fin. Ocular-side pelvic fin has 6 rays. Anal fin has 58 to 67 rays. Caudal fin is bluntly rounded. Body is covered with cycloid or weakly ctenoid scales. Lateral line is developed on both sides and is not strongly curved over pectoral fin. Lateral line scales number 37 to 43. Precaudal vertebrae number 10 or 11, and caudal vertebrae number 26 to 28.
Color of ocular side is tan to brown. Blind side is white.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Georges Bank off Massachusetts to Yucatán, including the Gulf of Mexico
In the Gulf of Mexico it is known from the west coast of Florida and off Alabama and Veracruz
Habitat Associations
Soft bottoms, between 46 and 366 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 180 mm TL
Occurs in deeper water. Rarely found in shallow water.
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 2013-02-01. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
References
Norman 1934
Gutherz 1967
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Smith 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
Klein-MacPhee 2002b
Munroe 2002c
Scott, W.B. and M.G. Scott (1988) Atlantic fishes of Canada. Can. Bull. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 219:731 p.
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.
Langton, R.W. and R.E. Bowman (1981) Food of eight Northwest Atlantic Pleuronectiform Fishes. NOAA Technical Report NMFS SSRF-749, U.S. Department of Commerce.
Bowman, R.E., C.E. Stillwell, W.L. Michaels and M.D. Grosslein (2000) Food of northwest Atlantic fishes and two common species of squid. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NE 155, 138 p.
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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