Citharichthys sordidus
Pacific Sanddab
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Pleuronectfiormes (Flatfishes)
Paralichthyidae (Sand Flounders)
Citharichthys
Citharichthys sordidus (Pacific Sanddab)
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: fusiform / normal. Caudal rounded; pectorals rather large and pointed (Ref. 6885). Eyed side dull brown or tan irregularly mottled with dark; Dorsal, anal, caudal and anal fins black; blind side white to pale brown (Ref. 6885). Freshly caught males with dull orange spots and blotches (Ref. 6885). Young light olive green on eyed side, finely and sparsely speckled with brown, black, and orange, especially on fins (Ref. 6885).
Distribution
Eastern Pacific: Bering Sea coast of Alaska to Cabo San Lucas, southern Baja California, Mexico. Occurrence in Nicaragua (Ref. 13613) needs validation.
Habitat Associations
Marine. demersal. depth range 0-549 m.
Biology
Found on sand bottoms (Ref. 2850). Young may occur at depth less than 9 m (Ref. 2850).
Max length: 41.0 cm TL; max age: 9 years.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Distinct pairing (Ref. 205).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2019-11-14. Resilience: Medium (K=0.30; tmax=11; tm=2.5).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish.
References
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Eschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald and H. Hammann (1983) A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Boston (MA, USA): Houghton Mifflin Company. xii+336 p.
Allen, M.J. and G.B. Smith (1988) Atlas and zoogeography of common fishes in the Bering Sea and northeastern Pacific. NOAA Tech. Rep. NMFS 66, 151 p.
Hart, J.L. (1973) Pacific fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 180:740 p.
Pearcy, W.G. and D. Hancock (1978) Feeding habits of dover sole, Microstomus pacificus; rex sole, Glyptocephalus zachirus; slender sole, Lyopsetta exilis; and pacific sanddab, Citharichthys sordidus, in a region of diverse sediments and bathymetry off Oregon. Fish. Bull. 76(3):641-651.
Lamb, A. and P. Edgell (1986) Coastal fishes of the Pacific northwest. Madeira Park, (BC, Canada): Harbour Publishing Co. Ltd., 224 p.
Hoshino, K. and K. Amaoka (1999) Citharichthys gnathus, a new species of paralichthyid flounder (Teleostei: Pleuronectiformes) from the Galapagos Islands, eastern Pacific Ocean. Ichthyol. Res. 46(4):371-375.
Cross, J.N., J. Roney and G.S. Kleppel (1985) Fish food habits along a pollution gradient. Calif. Fish Game 71(1):28-39.
Comments On Citharichthys sordidus