Gymnachirus texae
Fringed Sole
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
There are no photos available for this taxon yet.
Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Pleuronectfiormes (Flatfishes)
Achiridae (American Soles)
Gymnachirus
Gymnachirus texae (Fringed Sole)
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.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page.
Learn more about our species accounts.
Characters
Nearly circular in outline, with a matting of dermal folds and fimbriae on blind side of head and margin of body, fleshy dorsal and anal fins. Mouth is terminal. Jaw teeth are villiform, arranged in patches, and limited to blind side of jaws. Vomer and palatine lack teeth. Gill rakers are absent. Opercular opening is greatly restricted, and opercular cavities are connected by interbranchial septum. Branchiostegal membranes are largely free of isthmus. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 22.8%–34.9%, caudal fin length 23.1%–33.3%, body depth 46.6%–62%. Small rudimentary pectoral fin is located above gill slit on ocular side and has 1 to 3 rays; occasionally it is invaginated or hidden beneath integument. Pectoral fin on blind side is absent. Dorsal and anal fins are very fleshy and are separate from caudal fin. Dorsal fin has 57 to 66 rays, and anal fin has 41 to 48 rays. Pelvic fins are enclosed in common dermal envelope that is continuous with anal fin, and each fin consists of 5 rays. Blind side of head and margin of head on ocular side are covered with matting of dermal folds. Accessory lateral lines on ocular side, running perpendicular to lateral line, number five to nine. Third accessory lateral line on ocular side has 21 to 48 (usually 27 to 38) pores.
Ocular side is pale tan to brown, with moderate to narrow brown to black stripes. Total stripes number 25 to 49 (usually more than 30), and caudal fin stripes number 3 to 6. Light interstripes are about twice as wide as primary stripes. Juveniles (less than 27 mm SL) may be dark and without stripes. Blind side is pale creamy white to tan.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from the Gulf of Mexico and Yucatán Peninsula. In the Gulf of Mexico it occurs from Cape San Blas, FL, to Campeche Bank and is absent along the coast of Florida south and east of Cape San Blas.
Habitat Associations
Mud bottoms between 20 and 187 m
Biology
Max length: 14.0 cm TL.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-08-11. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial.
References
Gunter 1936 (as Nodogymnus texae)
Gunter 1952
Hildebrand 1954
Hildebrand 1955
Springer and Bullis 1956
Dawson 1964
Dawson 1967c
Robins and Ray 1986
Smith 1997
Munroe 2002e
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.
Munroe, T.A. (2003) Achiridae. American soles. p. 1925-1933. In K.E. Carpenter (ed.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae), sea turtles and marine mammals.
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 Gymnachirus texae