Species: Poecilopsetta inermis, Caribbean Offshore Flounder, Unarmed Deepwater Dab

Poecilopsetta inermis (Breder, 1927)

Unarmed Deepwater Dab, Caribbean Offshore Flounder

Body oval, moderately elongated (depth 40-46% SL), strongly compressed; head moderately small (22-28% SL); snout much shorter than eye, notched; eyes on right side, large, nearly equal in position, without tentacles, separated by a narrow ridge; mouth asymmetrical, short, ends under front of pupil; nostrils paired, on each side of head; teeth small, slender, in 2 rows, on both jaws; preopercular margin free, not covered with skin and scales; gill rakers stout, short, pointed at tips, not serrated, 4-7 + 8-15; fins without spines, dorsal- and anal-fin rays simple; no elongation of dorsal- or pelvic-fin rays; dorsal fin origin over pupil of upper eye; dorsal rays 58-64; anal rays 49-55; pectorals present on both sides, 7-12 rays on eye-side; pelvic fins with 6 unbranched rays, short based, not joined to anal fin; tail fin bluntly pointed; anus on mid-ventral line; genital papilla on right side of body, slightly above anus; lateral line well developed on ocular side, with strong curve above pectoral fin, no branch to head, absent on blind side; scales moderately small, easily shed, rough on ocular side, smooth on blind side; lateral line scales 70-74 (71-76).

Gray-brown, with scattered darker, yellow-brown blotches; lower surface pale, sometimes with a few scattered small dark spots; dorsal and anal fins with whitish bases, center brown, with scattered darker, yellow-brown blotches, edges whitish; pectoral fin with blackish rays, strongest ventrally; tail fin with a yellow-brown blotch at base, whitish rear edge, a large oval black blotch at center of the upper and lower borders.

Reaches 16 cm

Sandy bottoms

Depth range 185-793 m.

Southeast USA and the Gulf of Mexico to Suriname.