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Species: Engyophrys senta, Speckled-tail flounder, Spiny flounder

All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

eyes with tentacles, close together, spiny crest between
D 78-83; A 60-67
LL - 3 dark rosettes, central biggest
mouth small
4-7 short lower gill rakers
pelvic bases ~equal
LL arched

Engyophrys senta Ginsburg, 1933

Speckled-tail flounder, Spiny flounder

Body a wide oval; snout short (~20% of head length); eyes on left side of head, close together, large, lower one in advance of upper one; a sharp ridge between eyes with one or more back-pointing spines above lower pupil; a tentacle on rear of each eye (may be small or absent in large males); mouth small, not extending past front edge of eye; teeth small, ~entirely on blind-side of jaws; 4-7 very short gill rakers; dorsal origin before top eye, no long rays, 74-83 rays; anal fin 60-67; pectoral fin on both sides, rays not branched, eye-side fin larger; eye side pelvic fin with base on the body midline, equal in length to that of blind side fin, and its origin slightly behind that of blind side fin, and well behind lower eye; scales smooth, dorsal and anal scaly, ~50 scales on lateral line; lateral line on eye side only, strongly arched above the pectoral, no branch under lower eye.

Eye-side brown; 3 large dark clusters of spots along lateral line, the center cluster largest - above pectoral tip, on rear of body, on tail base; dark spots along top and bottom body profiles.

Size: 10 cm.

Habitat: sand, mud and shell bottoms.

Depth: 30-185 m.

N Carolina to Brazil.


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Salinity
  • Marine
  • Marine Only
Inshore/Offshore
  • Inshore Only
  • Inshore
Water Column Position
  • Bottom
Habitat
  • Sand & gravel
  • Mud
  • Soft bottom only
  • Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
FishBase Habitat
  • Demersal
Feeding Group
  • Carnivore
  • Data
Diet
  • Data
  • Mobile benthic worms
  • Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
  • Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
Egg Type
  • Data
  • Pelagic
  • Pelagic larva
Global Endemism
  • West Atlantic Endemic
  • All species.
  • Greater Caribbean non-endemic
Regional Endemism
  • Continent
  • All species..
  • Island (s)
  • Continent + Island (s)
  • GC non-endemic
  • Continental primarily
  • Extends North of GC
  • Extends N + S of GC
  • Extends South of GC
  • Also in Brazil
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
  • Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
  • Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
IUCN Red List
  • Least concern
  • Listed
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 10
Depth Range Min
  • 30
Depth Range Max
  • 185