Gastropsetta frontalis
Shrimp Flounder
Collection Details
Specimens
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Pleuronectfiormes (Flatfishes)
Paralichthyidae (Sand Flounders)
Gastropsetta
Gastropsetta frontalis (Shrimp 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
Moderately deep bodied, with several anterior dorsal fin rays elongated, ocular-side pelvic fin longer than blind-side pelvic fin. Margin of head is nearly vertical. Lower eye is located directly below upper eye. Maxilla extends to anterior margin of pupil of lower eye. Jaws and teeth are equally developed on each side. Jaw teeth are moderate in size, caninelike, and arranged in a single row. Gill rakers on first gill arch are short and thick and number three to six on upper limb and six to eight on lower limb. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 23%–30%, snout length 4%–5%, eye diameter 5%–6%, upper jaw length 8%–9%, ocular-side pectoral fin length 16%–17%, body depth 45%–55%. Pectoral fin on ocular side has 10 or 11 rays. Dorsal fin has 58 to 65 rays with first through fifth or sixth elongated and third or fourth the longest. Anteriormost dorsal fin rays bear terminal fleshy filaments. Bases of pelvic fins are short and insert on either side of ventral midline. Anal fin has 46 to 53 rays. Caudal fin margin is rounded. Scales are small and cycloid. Lateral line is strongly arched over pectoral fin base. Lateral line scales number 95 to 112. Vertebrae number 35 to 38: 10 precaudal and 25 to 28 caudal.
Ocular side is tan to dark brown, with three ocellated spots. Ocelli are in a triangular pattern, with anterior one over arched section of lateral line and posterior two symmetrically arranged on either side of lateral line slightly posterior to midlength. Blind side is white.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from North Carolina to Panama, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Bahamas.
Occurs throughout the Gulf of Mexico but is more abundant in the eastern than in the western Gulf.
Habitat Associations
Between 35 and 183 m depth.
Biology
Food consists of crustaceans and synodontid fishes.
Maximum known size is 250 mm TL.
Occurs in bays, lagoons and shallow coastal waters.
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 2013-01-29. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941
Springer and Bullis 1956
Bullis and Thompson 1965
Gutherz 1966
Gutherz 1967
Topp and Hoff 1972
Robins and Ray 1986
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.
Bogutskaya, N.G. (2007) Preliminary assignment of coordinates to type localities in the Catalog of Fishes. Unpublished dbf file.
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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