Citharichthys spilopterus
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Pleuronectfiormes (Flatfishes)
Paralichthyidae (Sand Flounders)
Citharichthys
Citharichthys spilopterus (Bay Whiff)
Description
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Characters
Body shape: short and / or deep.
Distribution
Western Atlantic: New Jersey, USA to the Antilles and Brazil.
Habitat Associations
Freshwater, brackish, marine. demersal. depth range 0-75 m. Found in: estuaries.
Biology
Occurs in shallow muddy bottoms from the coastline to 75 m depth; also in brackish estuaries and hypersaline lagoons (Ref. 5217). Inhabit mainly coastal waters and tidelands, but abundant in waters very near the sea to a few meters elevation with wholly freshwater ichthyofauna (Ref. 36880). Feeds mainly on zooplankton and zoobenthos (Ref. 13196). Taken with beach nets (Ref. 5217).
Max length: 21.0 cm TL; common length: 15.0 cm TL; max weight: 99 g.
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 (K=0.42; Fec=6,009 (batch fecundity)).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial.
References
Cervigón, F., R. Cipriani, W. Fischer, L. Garibaldi, M. Hendrickx, A.J. Lemus, R. Márquez, J.M. Poutiers, G. Robaina and B. Rodriguez (1992) Fichas FAO de identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Guía de campo de las especies comerciales marinas y de aquas salobres de la costa septentrional de Sur América. FAO, Rome. 513 p. Preparado con el financiamento de la Comisión de Comunidades Europeas y de NORAD.
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.
Toepfer, C.S. and J.W. Fleeger (1995) Diet of juvenile fishes Citharichthys spilopterus, Symphurus plagiusa and Gobionellus boleosoma. Bull. Mar. Sci. 56(1):238-249.
Figueiredo, J.L. and N.A. Menezes (2000) Manual de peixes marinhos do sudeste do Brasil. VI.Teleostei (5). Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo. Brazil. 116 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.
Viana, A.P., F. Lucena-Frédou, F. Ménard, T. Frédou, V. Ferreira, A.S. Lira and F. Le Loc'h (2016) Length-weight relations of 70 fish species (Actinopterygii) from tropical coastal region of Pernambuco, Northeast Brazil. Acta Ichthyol. Et Pisc. 46(3):271-277.
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