Monolene sessilicauda
Deepwater Flounder
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Pleuronectfiormes (Flatfishes)
Bothidae (Lefteye Flounders)
Monolene
Monolene sessilicauda (Deepwater 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
Oval shaped and elongate, with eyes narrowly separated and with pectoral fin on ocular side only. Maxilla extends slightly beyond anterior margin of lower jaw. Jaws and jaw teeth are about equally developed on each side. Jaw teeth are very small and arranged in a single row. Gill rakers are moderately developed and number about 4 on upper limb and 8 to 10 on lower limb. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 17%–20%, snout length 3%–4%, eye diameter 5%–6%, upper jaw length 4%–5%, ocular-side pectoral fin length 10%–11%, body depth 30%–33%. Pectoral fin has 11 to 14 rays. Dorsal fin has 92 to 107 rays. Caudal fin is bluntly pointed. Scales are ctenoid on ocular side and cycloid on blind side. Lateral line is strongly elevated over pectoral fin. Lateral line scales number 88 to 94. Precaudal vertebrae number 10 or 11, and caudal vertebrae number 36.
Ocular side is tan to brownish, with darker blotches arranged into bands. Pectoral fin has a clear base and dark spots and blotches forming bands on distal half of fin. Caudal fin may have a large black blotch. Blind side is white.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from New England to Brazil, including the northern and southern Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea
Northern and southern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Between 78 and 549 m
Biology
130 mm SL
Found on soft bottoms (Ref. 5217).
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: Medium (Assuming tmax>3).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Monolene antillarum Norman is apparently a junior synonym of this species
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial.
References
Norman 1934 (as M. antillarum, in part)
Gutherz 1967
Hoese and Moore 1977
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Hoese and Moore 1998
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.
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.
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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