Platichthys stellatus
Starry Flounder
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Pleuronectfiormes (Flatfishes)
Pleuronectidae (Righteye Flounders)
Platichthys
Platichthys stellatus (Starry Flounder)
Description
This species account was compiled from
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Characters
Body shape: short and / or deep. Distinguished by the presence of both eyes on the same side of the head, dorsal and anal fins that are marked with dark and light (white to orange) bars, and especially, by the stellate, bony tubercles scattered over its body (Ref. 27547). Dorsal originates over middle of upper eye; anal with a sharp, forward pointing spine (often buried in skin) before first ray; pectorals are bluntly pointed; caudal slightly rounded (Ref. 27547). Eyed side dark brown to nearly black, sometimes with indefinite blotchings (Alaskans specimens sometimes with a greenish tinge); blind side white to creamy; dorsal fin with 4 to 7 dark bars with white to orange spaces between; anal fin with 4 to 6 such bars; caudal fin with 3 or 4 dark longitudinal bars on its posterior part; in rare cases, the blind side may be partly or completely colored like the eyed side, or white may be present on the eyed side, creating a piebald effect (Ref. 27547, 28897, 28898).
Distribution
Northern Pacific, from the Yellow Sea along coasts of Korean Peninsula, Russian Far East, and Japanese Arch. to the Arctic, including Chukchi and Beaufort seas, extending to the south through the Bering Sea to California.
Habitat Associations
Freshwater, brackish, marine. demersal. depth range 0-375 m. Found in: streams, estuaries.
Biology
Found inshore, often in very shallow water and in estuaries during the summer; moving into deeper water in the winter (Ref. 27547). However, they may occur in deep water throughout the year (Ref. 27547). Does not venture into water of high salinities (Ref. 28899). Young and adults move up rivers, as much as 120 km (Ref. 27547). Benthic (Ref. 58426). Feeds on crustaceans, worms, small mollusks, brittle stars, and small fishes (Ref. 6885). Important game fish (Ref. 2850). Utilized fresh and frozen; eaten steamed, fried, boiled, microwaved, and baked (Ref. 9988).
Max length: 91.0 cm TL; common length: 57.5 cm TL; max weight: 9100 g; max age: 42 years.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Onset of metamorphosis occurs at 10.5 mm. First settlement of young is in shallow silty-sandy substrates, usually in estuaries (Ref. 117245).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2020-11-05. Resilience: Very low (tm=2-3; tmax=42).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish.
References
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Eschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald and H. Hammann (1983) A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Boston (MA, USA): Houghton Mifflin Company. xii+336 p.
Allen, M.J. and G.B. Smith (1988) Atlas and zoogeography of common fishes in the Bering Sea and northeastern Pacific. NOAA Tech. Rep. NMFS 66, 151 p.
Tokranov, A.M. and V.V. Maksimenkov (1994) Feeding of the starry flounder, Platichthys stellatus, in the Bol'shaya River estuary (western Kamchatka). J. Ichthyol. 34(1):76-83.
Jewett, S.C. and H.M. Feder (1980) Autumn food of adult starry flounders, Platichthys stellatus, from the northeastern Bering Sea and the southeastern Chukchi Sea. J. Cons. Int. Explor. Mer. 39(1):7-14.
Morrow, J.E. (1980) The freshwater fishes of Alaska. University of. B.C. Animal Resources Ecology Library. 248p.
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.
Vinnikov, K.A., R.C. Thomson and T.A. Munroe (2018) Revised classification of the righteye flounders (Teleostei: Pleuronectidae) based on multilocus phylogeny with complete taxon sampling. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, 125:147-162. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.03.014
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