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Species: Trichopsetta melasma, Spot-fin sash flounder, Spotfin Sash flounder

All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

end curved LL - round spot
front male A: dark blotch
blind-side dusky
LL 84-94
lower gill rakers: slender, 9-11
pectorals: eye-side > blind-side

Trichopsetta melasma Anderson & Gutherz, 1967

Spot-fin sash flounder

Body oval, depth 39-43% of SL; eyes on left side of head, close together, with a spineless crest between them; snout concave on upper side, deeply notched before top eye; mouth moderate, ends under pupil of lower eye; male with spine on lower jaw, another on snout above top lip, another before front rim of each eye;  teeth small, pointed, almost entirely on blind side jaws; 9-11 long, slender lower gill rakers; dorsal rays 98-104; dorsal origin in front of top eye; anal rays 80-85; pectoral fin on both sides, rays not branched, eye side fin longer than blind side fin; eye side pelvic fin with base about equal to that of blind side fin, situated on body midline, its origin slightly behind that of blind-side fin and well behind lower eye; male with greatly elongate blind side pelvic fin; lateral line on eye side only, strongly arched above the pectoral, no branch under lower eye; 84-94 lateral line scales.

Brown; a strong round dark blotch at junction of curved and straight parts of lateral line; blind side dusky; male with dark blotch.at front of anal fin.

Reaches 30 cm.

Soft bottoms.

Depth range: 135-300 m.

SE Florida to the SW Caribbean.


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Salinity
  • Marine
  • Marine Only
Inshore/Offshore
  • Inshore
  • Inshore Only
Water Column Position
  • Bottom
  • Bottom only
Habitat
  • Soft bottom only
  • Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
  • Mud
FishBase Habitat
  • Demersal
Feeding Group
  • Data
  • Carnivore
Diet
  • Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
  • Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
  • Mobile benthic worms
  • Bony fishes
  • Data
Egg Type
  • Data
  • Pelagic
  • Pelagic larva
Global Endemism
  • All species.
  • Greater Caribbean endemic
Regional Endemism
  • Continent
  • Continent + Island (s)
  • Island (s)
  • GC endemic
  • All species..
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
  • Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
  • Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
IUCN Red List
  • Least concern
  • Listed
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 30
Depth Range Min
  • 135
Depth Range Max
  • 300