Etropus rimosus
Gray Flounder
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Pleuronectfiormes (Flatfishes)
Paralichthyidae (Sand Flounders)
Etropus
Etropus rimosus (Gray 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
Deep bodied and elliptical in profile, with a small mouth, a low interorbital ridge, and secondary squamation covering most of scales on ocular side. Eyes are close together and separated by a strongly elevated interorbital ridge, and lower eye is slightly anterior to upper eye. Maxilla extends to anterior section of lower eye. Mandible is asymmetrical and has symphyseal knob. Jaw teeth are small, conical, blunt, and arranged in a single row, and are larger on blind side than on ocular side. Gill rakers are short and stout and number five to eight on upper limb and four to six on lower limb. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 22%–26%, snout length about 3%, eye diameter about 5%, upper jaw length about 5%, ocular-side pectoral fin length 12%–24%, caudal peduncle depth 13%–16%, body depth 51%–59%. Pectoral fin on ocular side has 10 or 11 rays. Dorsal fin originates on blind side at level of anterior margin of upper eye and has 70 to 83 (usually 75 to 80) rays. Pelvic fin bases are short, and that of ocular-side fin is on ventral midline and slightly posterior to that of blind-side fin. Anal fin has 53 to 64 (usually 59 to 62) rays. Caudal fin is rounded. Scales are weakly ctenoid; however, ctenii may not be visible on specimens less than 50 mm SL. Primary scales on ocular side are covered with secondary scales except for narrow posterior margin. Scales occur on snout anterior to line connecting ocular- and blind-side nostrils. Ctenii on snout scales are highly modified. Lateral line is developed on both sides and is not arched over pectoral fin. Lateral line scales number 36 to 45 (usually 38 to 42). Precaudal vertebrae number 10, and caudal vertebrae number 24 or 25.
Ocular side is dusky gray. Caudal fin lacks dark margin. Blind side is white.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from just north of Cape Hatteras to the eastern Gulf of Mexico. In the Gulf of Mexico it has been captured from the Dry Tortugas to the Florida Big Bend (29°01'N).
Habitat Associations
Occurs between 7 and 60 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 111 mm SL
Occurs usually deeper than 40 m.
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 2021-04-08. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
References
Norman 1934
Gutherz 1967 (possibly as E. cyclosquamus)
Robins and Ray 1986 (possibly as E. cyclosquamus)
Retzer 1990
Boschung 1992
Munroe 2002c
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.
Leslie, A.J. Jr. and D.J. Stewart (1986) Systematics and distributional ecology of Etropus (Pisces, Bothidae) on the Atlantic Coast of the United States with description of a new species. Copeia 1986(1):140-156.
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.
Comments On Etropus rimosus