Spotted Flounder, Ammotretis lituratus (Richardson 1844)
Other Names: Bass Flounder, Dotted Sole, Spotted Sole, Tudor's Flounder
A Spotted Flounder, Ammotretis lituratus, at Portsea, Port Phillip, Victoria, December 2003. Source: @ronigreer / iNaturalist.org. License: CC By Attribution-NonCommercial
Summary:
A well-camouflaged beige, sandy or greyish flounder, sometimes with a number of darker spots scattered on the head, body and/or fins.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. & Bradley, E. 2022, Ammotretis lituratus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 19 Jan 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/4711
Spotted Flounder, Ammotretis lituratus (Richardson 1844)
More Info
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Distribution |
Twofold Bay, New South Wales, to off Flinders Island, South Australia, including around Tasmania. Inhabits clean sandy areas in bays and coastal waters at depths to 80 m. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin 77-82; Anal fin 54-58; Caudal fin 14; Pectoral fin 10-11; Pelvic fin (right) 9-10, (left) 6; Lateral line ~ 78. Body deep (46-50% SL), extremely compressed; both eyes on right side of head; head reasonably small, eyes on right side separated by a narrow space; snout extended into a hook-like process projecting downwards in front of small, oblique mouth; teeth small; a small rounded lump present on the blind side near pectoral-fin tip. Scales very small, rather firmly attached; mostly ctenoid on ocular side, mostly cycloid on blind side; a short, lateral-line segment present above upper eye. Dorsal, anal and caudal fins separate; dorsal fin arising on tip of snout, without greatly elongated anterior rays. Caudal fin rounded. Right pectoral fin longer than left pectoral fin. |
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Colour |
A well-camouflaged beige, sandy or greyish flounder, sometimes with a number of darker spots on the head, body and/or fins, and a whitish underside. |
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Remarks |
Presumably the most common small sized species in the genus. Found regularly on the eastern and western sides of the Bass Strait. |
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Etymology |
The specific name lituratus is from the Latin litura (= a blur), possibly in reference to 'some minute dark specks widely dispersed' on the eyed side. |
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Species Citation |
Solea liturata Richardson 1844, Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond. 3(2): 156. Type locality: Tasmania. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. & Bradley, E. 2022 |
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Resources |
Spotted Flounder, Ammotretis lituratus (Richardson 1844)
References
Edgar, G.J. 2000. Australian Marine Life: the plants and animals of temperate waters. Sydney : Reed New Holland Revised Edn, 544 pp.
Gomon, M.F. 1994. Family Pleuronectidae. pp. 851-859, figs 753-760 in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. Adelaide : State Printer 992 pp. 810 figs.
Gomon, M.F. 2008. Family Rhombosoleidae. pp. 810-816 in Gomon, M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp.
Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp.
Last, P.R. 1978. A new genus and species of flounder (F. Pleuronectidae) with notes on other Tasmanian species. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 112: 21-28 pl. 1 See ref online
Last, P.R., Scott, E.O.G. & Talbot, F.H. 1983. Fishes of Tasmania. Hobart : Tasmanian Fisheries Development Authority 563 pp. figs.
May, J.L. & Maxwell, J.G.H. 1986. Field Guide to Trawl Fish from Temperate Waters of Australia. Hobart : CSIRO Division of Marine Research 492 pp.
McCulloch, A.R. 1914. Report on some fishes obtained by the F.I.S. Endeavour on the coasts of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South and South-Western Australia. Part 2. Biological Results of the Fishing Experiments carried on by the F.I.S. Endeavour 1909-1914 2(3): 77-165 figs 1-15 pls 13-34 (as Ammotretis tudori) See ref at BHL
Munroe, T.A. 2021. Ammotretis lituratus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T158644366A158673987. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T158644366A158673987.en. Accessed on 14 January 2022.
Norman, J.R. 1926. A report on the flatfishes (Heterosomata) collected by the F.I.S. Endeavour, with a synopsis of the flatfishes of Australia and a revision of the subfamily Rhombosoleinae. Biological Results of the Fishing Experiments carried on by the F.I.S. Endeavour 1909-1914 5(5): 219-308 figs 1-15 (as Ammotretis tudori) See ref at BHL
Norman, J.R. 1934. A Systematic Monograph of the Flatfishes (Heterosomata) Psettodidae, Bothidae, Pleuronectidae. London : British Museum Vol. 1 459 pp. 317 figs. See ref at BHL
Richardson, J. 1844. Description of Australian fish. Part 2. Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 3(2): 133-185 figs 7-11 Ref at BHL
Sakamoto, K. 1984. Interrelationships of the Family Pleuronectidae (Pisces: Pleuronectiformes). Memoirs of the Faculty of Fisheries, Hokkaido University 31(1,2): 95-215 figs 1-51
