Achirus lineatus

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.