Citharichthys macrops
Spotted Whiff
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Pleuronectfiormes (Flatfishes)
Paralichthyidae (Sand Flounders)
Citharichthys
Citharichthys macrops (Spotted Whiff)
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 and oval in profile, with a relatively large mouth, leaflike cirri on margin of lower operculum. Eyes close set and separated by a low, narrow concave ridge, and are on same vertical line. Upper jaw extends nearly to middle of lower eye. Jaw teeth very small and arranged in a single row. Gill rakers on first arch moderately long and slender, 5 or 6 on upper limb and 13 to 16 on lower limb. Measurements (% SL): head length 24%–27%, snout length 4%–6%, orbit diameter 6%–7%, upper jaw length 9%–10%, ocular-side pectoral fin length 15%–17%, body depth 50%–53%. Pectoral fin on ocular side has 9 to 12 rays. Dorsal fin has 79 to 82 rays, with anterior rays more or less free of membranes and first ray longer than other anterior rays. Pelvic fin bases short, and that of ocular-side fin is on ventral midline and slightly posterior to that of blind-side fin. Ocular-side pelvic fin rays number 6. Anal fin has 59 to 63 rays. Caudal fin bluntly pointed. Body covered with cycloid or weakly ctenoid scales. Lateral line developed on both sides and not strongly curved over pectoral fin. Lateral line scales number 37 to 44 (usually 37 to 40). Precaudal vertebrae number 10, and caudal vertebrae number 24 or 25.
Ocular side tan to dark brown, with numerous dark spots and blotches on body and fins. Blind side white.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from North Carolina to Honduras, including the northern and southern Gulf of Mexico.
Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Shoreline to 15 m, occasionally to 91 m, associated with hard sand bottoms
Hard sand bottoms
Biology
Maximum known size is 200 mm TL
Inhabits hard sand bottom from water's edge to 18 m depth, occasionally to 90 m.
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
Hildebrand 1955
Springer and Woodburn 1960
Gutherz 1967
Topp and Hoff 1972
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
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.
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.
Carpenter, K.E., T. Munroe, R. Robertson (2015) Citharichthys macrops. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T16438701A16509982.
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