Common Name
Finless Flounder
Year Described
Penrith, 1965
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 117-145
Anal Fin: 104-124
Pectoral Fin: absent
Pelvic Fin: 4-7 on left side, 4-7 on right side
Gill Rakers: 6-17 (first arch)
Lateral Line Scales: 142-212
Vertebrae: 16-17 precaudal, 47-49 caudal; 63-67 total.
Body elongate and oblong (depth 2.5-3.3 in SL) with a very concave head profile and shallowly curved dorsal/ventral profile. Midline of body robust and thick, becoming thin dorsally and ventrally. Snout obviously projecting. Head length 23-31% SL. Eye diameter greater than snout, but much shorter than law length. Posterior margin of jaw reaches the posterior margin of lower eye. Teeth minute; in a single row in both jaws. Anus along midline. Body scales with spinules that lay flat against body. Scales on the fins have 8-12 ctenii that project outward at an angle. Dorsal fin low with origin anterior to upper eye. Anal fin low with origin posterior to pelvic base. Dorsal and anal fins contiguous with caudal fin. Pectoral fins absent. Caudal fin small and rounded.
Color
Uniformly dark brown.
Size
Maximum size to 57cm SL.
Habitat
Continental shelf and slope from 165-840m, over soft bottoms.
Range
Southwestern Atlantic: southern Argentina (Burwood Bank) to S. Chile.
References
Heemstra. 1990. Achiropsettidae. p. 408-413. In O. Gon and P.C. Heemstra (eds.). Fishes of the Southern Ocean. J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Grahamstown, South Africa.
Other Notes
Apterygopectus avilesi (Ojeda, 1978) is a synonym.