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

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.