Scophthalmus aquosus

(Brill, Sand Dab, Spotted Flounder, Windowpane, Windowpane, Windowpane Flounder)

Overview:

Family: Turbots; Occurs from shore to 45 m depth, occasionally in deeper water.

Conservation Status

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Population Analysis

For the 31,420 species in the Class Actinopterygii (Ray-Finned Fishes), we average 66.73 observations each in our database; for the Windowpane Flounder, we have 5,873 observations. Compared to other species in this Class, this species is moderately common.
A two-sample t-test can be used to determine whether the trend in observations of the Windowpane Flounder is the same as the trend in observations of Actinopterygii. Is this species just as common, as a proportion of all observations, as it once was? The answer is no, changes in observation rate of this species significantly differ from changes in observation rate of its Class. (t=20.319, p<0.001)
How do observation rates of the Windowpane Flounder differ from those of Actinopterygii? To answer this, we examined the percentage of observerations for Actinopterygii that were observations of the Windowpane Flounder each year. We then correlated this percentage with observation year. If observations of the Windowpane Flounder are becoming more common relative to other species of Actinopterygii, the correlation should be positive, but if it is becoming less common, the correlation should be negative. In fact, the correlation is positive (r=.09), with a positive slope (m = .0077), suggesting that the Windowpane Flounder may be increasing relative to other species of Actinopterygii. This correlation is statistically significant. (F = 29.9, p<.05)
The scatter chart to the right shows the percentage of all observations for Actinopterygii each year that were observations of the Windowpane Flounder.

Taxonomy

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Domain: Eukaryota Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Animalia Linnaeus, 1758 - Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
  - Subkingdom: Bilateria (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - bilaterians
    - Branch: Deuterostomia Grobben, 1908 - Deuterostomes
      - Infrakingdom: Chordonia (Haeckel, 1874) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
        Phylum: Chordata Bateson, 1885 - Chordates
        Subphylum: Vertebrata Cuvier, 1812 - Vertebrates
        Infraphylum: Gnathostomata auct. - Jawed Vertebrates
        Superclass: Osteichthyes Huxley, 1880 - Bony Fishes
        Class: Actinopterygii Cope 1887 - Ray-Finned Fishes
        Order: Pleuronectiformes - Flatfishes, Flounders
        Suborder: Pleuronectoidei
        Series: Percomorpha
        Family: Scophthalmidae - Turbots
        Genus: Scophthalmus
        Specific name: aquosus (Mitchill, 1815)
        Scientific name: Scophthalmus aquosus (Mitchill, 1815)

Unambiguous Synonyms:

Pleuronectes aquosus Mitchill, 1815

Notes:

Name Status: Accepted Name.

Physical Description

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Family Scophthalmidae:

North Atlantic, Baltic, Mediterranean, Black seas. Eyes on left side; mouth large and lower jaw prominent. Both pelvic fin bases elongate. Egg with a single oil globule in the yolk. Maximum length about 1 m in Psetta maxima.

The family Scophthalmidae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) and the Order Pleuronectiformes. It contains 5 genera and 18 species. It may be found in Marine and Brackish environments and is primarily Marine. Members of this family are not used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are nonguarders. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is anguilliform. Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be sluggish. Members of this family have been dated back to the Miocene epoch of the Tertiary period. Etymology of this family name: Greek, skopein = to look, watch + Greek, ophthalmos = eye

Images:

Scophthalmus aquosus Scophthalmus aquosus Unsexed specimen of Scophthalmus aquosus Source: Coad, B.W. (1995). Encyclopedia of Canadian fishes. Canadian Museum of Nature and Canadian Sportfishing Productions Inc. Singapore. ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 59217

Scophthalmus aquosus Scophthalmus aquosus Larva of Scophthalmus aquosus
Location Taken: Delaware Bay Source: Scotton, L.N., R.E. Smith, N.S. Smith, K.S. Price and D.P. de Sylva (1973). Pictorial guide to fish larvae of Delaware Bay: with information and bibliographies useful for the study of fish larvae. Delaware Bay Report Series. Vol. 7. College of Marine ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 59220

Scophthalmus aquosus Scophthalmus aquosus Scophthalmus aquosus
Location Taken: Delaware Bay Source: Scotton, L.N., R.E. Smith, N.S. Smith, K.S. Price and D.P. de Sylva (1973). Pictorial guide to fish larvae of Delaware Bay: with information and bibliographies useful for the study of fish larvae. Delaware Bay Report Series. Vol. 7. College of Marine ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 59221

Distribution

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Range and Population

Western Atlantic Ocean

Western Atlantic: Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada to northern Florida in USA.

Habitat

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Biome

Saltwater. Demersal.

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Scophthalmus:

There are approximately 10 species and subspecies in this genus: S. aquasus · S. aquosus (Brill) · S. aquosus eggs · S. laevis · S. maculatus · Psetta maxima (Black Sea Turbot) · S. maeoticus maeoticus · S. norvegicus · S. rhombus (Brill) · S. simillimus

Members of the genus Scarus:

Bibliography

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Eschmeyer, William N., ed. 1998. Catalog of Fishes. Special Publication of the Center for Biodiversity Research and Information, no. 1, vol 1-3. California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco, California, USA. 2905. ISBN: 0-940228-47-5.
Haedrich, R.L. and N.R. Merrett (1988). Summary atlas of deep-living demersal fishes in the North Atlantic Basin. Journal of Natural History 22:1325-1362.
Klein-MacPhee, Grace / Collette, Bruce B., and Grace Klein-MacPhee, eds. 2002. Family Scophthalmidae. Bigelow and Schroeder's Fishes of the Gulf of Maine, Third Edition. Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington, DC, USA. 547-550. ISBN: 1-56098-951-3.
Murdy, Edward O., Ray S. Birdsong, and John A. Musick 1997. Fishes of Chesapeake Bay. Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington, DC, USA. xi + 324. ISBN: 1-56098-638-7.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986). A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Robins, Richard C., Reeve M. Bailey, Carl E. Bond, James R. Brooker, Ernest A. Lachner, et al. 1980. A List of Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States and Canada, Fourth Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication, no. 12. American Fisheries Society. Bethesda, Maryland, USA. 174.

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Notes

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Contributors:

Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed April 20, 2007.
Compagno, Leonard J.V. (from FishBase).
Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 01, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 7 providers.

Data Sources:

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 01, 2008:

Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Fish Collection
Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates: Fish Collection
FishBase: FishBase DiGIR Provider - Philippine Server
Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: A Biological Survey of the Waters of Woods Hole and Vacinity
Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Atlantic Reference Centre (OBIS Canada)
Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Bay of Fundy Species List (OBIS Canada)
Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Canadian Museum of Nature - Fish Collection (OBIS Canada)
Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: DFO Maritimes Research Vessel Trawl Surveys Fish Observations (OBIS Canada)
Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: ECNASAP - East Coast North America Strategic Assessment (OBIS Canada)
Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Electronic Atlas of Ichthyoplankton on the Scotian Shelf of North America (OBIS Canada)
Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Gulf of Maine Bottom Trawl Survey Data (NEFSC,NMFS,NOAA)(USOBIS)
Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: NODC WOD01 Plankton Database
Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History - Marine Birds, Mammals, and Fishes (OBIS Canada)
Museum national d'histoire naturelle: Ichtyologie
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University: MCZ Fish Collection
University of Kansas Biodiversity Research Center: Fish Collection

Identifiers:

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 172746
Fishbase Species ID: 530
Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 109311
Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: AFCTA05010
Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 124381

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Last Revised: April 21, 2008