Common Name
Lined Sole
Year Described
Linnaeus, 1758
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 52-58
Anal Fin: 39-44
Pectoral Fin: 5 (on eyed side)
Pelvic Fin: 5
Body deep and elliptical. Foramen in the branchial septum. Caudal peduncle relatively deep (depth greater than the distance from snout to preopercle). Distance across both eyes is equal to entire jaw length. Patches of cirri present on body.
Color
Body light brown with a dense speckling of variably sized dark spots and blotches (usually round). Six vertical lines present on body and four on the head (often obscured by body pattern). Spots also present on dorsal, anal, and caudal fins. Blind side pale with scattered blotches.
Size
Common to 17cm SL. Maximum size to 23cm SL.
Habitat
Coastal areas with muddy or sandy bottoms. Found from fully marine lagoons to low salinity brackish regions in river mouths. Junveniles occur closer to shore, adults in deeper channels.
Range
Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea, to Argentina.
References
Greenfield, D.W. and J.E. Thomerson. 1997. Fishes of the continental waters of Belize. University Press of Florida, Florida. 311 p.
Munroe, T.A. 2002. Achiridae (pp 1925-1933). In: Carpenter. 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae), sea turtles and sea mammals. FAO Species Identification Guides for Fisheries Purposes. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5.