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Species: Trinectes paulistanus, Slipper Sole, Southern Hogchoker, Southern Hogchoker Sole

All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

body: 8-11 thin bars; scattered dark blotches
mid-body -often 2 large blotches
D 53-62; A 38-45
eye-side: no cirri
eye-side pectoral usually present (1 ray)
pelvics 5 rays

Trinectes paulistanus (Miránda-Ribiero, 1915)

Southern Hogchoker, Slipper Sole, Southern Hogchoker Sole

Body oval; eyes on right side, not tiny (40-56% of snout length); head short and deep; front margin of head with short tentacles; snout rounded; mouth small, oblique, a little under snout; lips fleshy; rear edge of preopercle covered with skin, visible as a superficial groove; gill openings wide, united before pelvic fins; without opening connecting gill chambers on both sides; blind side with numerous long tentacles on head and tentacles along bases of front dorsal fin rays; dorsal 53-62 rays, origin above lower eye; anal rays 38-45; eye-side pectoral fin normally with a single ray on eye side, absent on blind side; pelvic fin on eye side fused to anal; both pelvics 5 rays; lateral line from head to tail, straight, with perpendicular branches running across body; body covered with rough scales; scales on front of head enlarged, 4-5 rows on preopercle, 8-10 rows on opercle; eye side cirri absent, except for small patch between front nostril and lower eye.

Eye-side pale (rarely dark) brown, body usually with 8-11 narrow dotted dark crossbars, often a line of dark dots along the body midline, scattered dark dots, body often with scattered dark blotches sometimes a large dark blotch at base of dorsal and anal fin at mid-body level; tail fin without spots; blind side uniform brown, paler head, or with scattered dark blotches at rear of body.

Size: to 18 cm.

Habitat: estuaries and hypersaline lagoons.

Depth: 0-16 m.

NW Caribbean to Brazil.


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Salinity
  • Brackish
  • Freshwater
  • Hypersaline
  • Marine
Inshore/Offshore
  • Inshore
  • Inshore Only
Water Column Position
  • Bottom
Habitat
  • Sand & gravel
  • Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
  • Soft bottom only
  • Estuary
  • Freshwater
  • Mud
FishBase Habitat
  • Demersal
Feeding Group
  • Carnivore
  • Data
Diet
  • Data
  • Insects
  • Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
Egg Type
  • Data
  • Pelagic
  • Pelagic larva
Global Endemism
  • All species
  • Greater Caribbean non-endemic
  • West Atlantic Endemic
Regional Endemism
  • Also in Brazil
  • Continent
  • Continent only
  • Extends South of GC
  • GC non-endemic
  • All species
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
  • Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
IUCN Red List
  • Least concern
  • Listed
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 18
Depth Range Min
  • 0
Depth Range Max
  • 16