Engyophrys senta
Spiny Flounder
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Pleuronectfiormes (Flatfishes)
Bothidae (Lefteye Flounders)
Engyophrys
Engyophrys senta (Spiny 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.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Ovate in profile, with eyes separated by a narrow ridge and three to five spines on interorbital ridge. Upper orbit bears spine along anterodorsal margin, and lower orbit bears spine along anterior margin. Posterior regions of eyes bear moderately long tentacles in juveniles and females. Maxilla extends to anterior margin of lower eye. Jaws on each side are equally developed, but small teeth are mostly confined to blind side. Gill rakers on first arch are very short and number zero to three on upper limb and four to seven on lower limb. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 21%–24%, snout length 3%–5%, eye diameter 6%–8%, upper jaw length 4%–5%, ocular-side pectoral fin length 12%–15%, body depth 53%–59%. Pectoral fin on ocular side is longer than fin on blind side and has 8 to 10 (usually 9) rays. Dorsal fin has 74 to 83 rays. Caudal fin is bluntly pointed. Scales are ctenoid on ocular side and cycloid on blind side. Lateral line is strongly arched over pectoral fin. Lateral line scales number about 50. Precaudal vertebrae number 10, and caudal vertebrae number 27 or 28.
Ocular side is tan to brownish, with three dark blotches along lateral line and along dorsal and ventral margins of body. Blotches occur at beginning of straight part of lateral line, on caudal peduncle, and slightly posterior to mid-distance between them. Blotches along dorsal and ventral margins often appear as narrow dark rings. Blind side is white in juveniles and females but is dusky in males, with three to seven curved bars on anterior third of body.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from North Carolina and the Bahamas to Brazil, including the northern and southern Gulf of Mexico, the Florida Keys, and Trinidad.
Northern and southern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Between 37 and 183 m depth
Biology
Maximum known size is 100 mm TL
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-21. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
References
Gutherz 1967
Hoese and Moore 1977, 1998
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
Munroe 2002a
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 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.
Patzner, R.A. (2008) Reproductive strategies of fish. pp. 311-350. In Rocha, M.J., A. Arukwe and B.G. Kapoor (eds). Fish reproduction: cytology, biology and ecology. Science Publisher, Inc. Oxford. 631 p.
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