Greenback Flounder, Rhombosolea tapirina Günther 1862
A Greenback Flounder, Rhombosolea tapirina, at Battery Point, Derwent River, Hobart, Tasmania. Source: Rick Stuart-Smith / Reef Life Survey. License: CC BY Attribution
A greenish to greyish or brownish flounder, with a pale underside, a distinctly rhomboidal shape, a long fleshy snout, and no pelvic fins on the underside. Darker spots and blotches may be present on the upper side.
Greenback Flounder, Rhombosolea tapirina Günther 1862
More Info
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Distribution |
Known in Australia from Jervis Bay, New South Wales, to the Great Australian Bight, eastern Western Australia, and around Tasmania. Elsewhere the species occurs in New Zealand, including the Auckland and Campbell Islands. Adults inhabit sandy, silty and muddy areas in sheltered bays, estuaries, and Juveniles settle out onto shallow sand and mudflats, blending into the substrate. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin 56-69; Anal fin 40-50; Caudal fin 14-17; Pectoral fin 10; Pelvic fin 6 (fin absent on blind side); Lateral line scales 72-83. Body deep (47 60% SL), extremely compressed, of moderate length. Head of moderate size (27-32% SL); eyes on right side of head, small (16-21% HL), separated by moderately narrow space; snout slightly extended into fleshy process projecting more or less in front of mouth in adults; mouth of moderate size (upper jaw length on eyed side 23-25% HL), oblique, extending to below anterior edge of lower eye; teeth small, narrow band on blind side in each jaw. Scales very small, rather firmly attached, cycloid on both sides of body, covering head except well anteriorly; lateral line on both sides, with slight dorsal curve above pectoral fins, extending well onto head and splitting into two branches. Dorsal, anal and caudal fins separate; dorsal fin arising somewhat above tip of snout, first few rays joined by membranes only at base; caudal fin rather truncate. Right pectoral fin slightly longer than left; first ray of left fin without swollen tip. Pelvic fin on eyed side with elongate base originating at anterior extent of chest, connected by membrane to anal fin, blind side fin usually absent. |
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Feeding |
Adults are nocturnal and feed on benthic invertebrates such as crustaceans and polychaete worms. Juveniles consume small crustaceans such as amphipods and copepods, and polychaete worms. |
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Biology |
A serial spawner, with females spawning offshore and in the deeper parts of estuaries from late winter to spring. |
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Fisheries |
Fished commercially and recreationally in south-eastern Australia, with small catches also taken in Queensland and Western Australia. They are taken with bottom-set gill nets and seine nets, and are also caught incidentally in Danish seines and otter trawls. The species is commercially important in New Zealand. |
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Etymology |
The specific name tapirina (= tapir-like) presumably refers to the fleshy process on the snout that projects in front of the mouth of this species, like the nose trunk of a tapir. |
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Species Citation |
Rhombosolea tapirina Günther 1862, Cat. fish. British Mus. Vol. 4 459. Type locality: Australian Seas |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2022 |
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Resources |
Greenback Flounder, Rhombosolea tapirina Günther 1862
References
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Burchmore, J.J. 1982. The comparative ecology of sympatric flatfish species
(Pleuronectiformes) in Botany Bay, New South Wales. MSc Thesis, University of Sydney.
Castelnau, F.L. de 1872. Contribution to the ichthyology of Australia. 1. The Melbourne fish market. Proceedings of the Zoological and Acclimatisation Society of Victoria 1: 29-242 1 pl (described as Pleuronectes victoriae) See ref at BHL
Chen, W.-M., Purser, J. & Blyth, P. 1999. Diel feeding rhythms of greenback flounder Rhombosolea tapirina (Günther 1862): the role of light-dark cycles and food deprivation. Aquaculture Research 30: 529-537.
Cox, E.S. & Pankhurst, P.M. 2000. Feeding behaviour of greenback flounder larvae, Rhombosolea tapirina (Günther) with differing exposure histories to live prey. Aquaculture Research 183: 285-297.
Crawford, C.M. 1984. An ecological study of Tasmanian flounder. Ph.D thesis, University of Tasmania, 211 pp. See ref online
Crawford, C.M. 1984. Preliminary results of experiments on the rearing of Tasmanian flounders, Rhombosolea tapirina and Ammotretis rostratus. Aquaculture 42: 75-81.
Crawford, C.M. 1986. Development of eggs and larvae of the flounders Rhombosolea tapirina and Ammotretis rostratus (Pisces: Pleuronectidae). Journal of Fish Biology 29: 325-334.
Earl, J. 2014. Population biology and ecology of the greenback flounder (Rhombosolea tapirina) in the Coorong estuary, South Australia. Ph.D Thesis, Flinders University, South Australia.
Earl, J., Fowler, A.J., Ye, Q. & Dittmann, S. 2014. Age validation, growth and population characteristics of greenback flounder (Rhombosolea tapirina) in a large temperate estuary, New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 48(2): 229-244, https://doi.org/10.1080/00288330.2013.875928
Earl, J., Fowler, A.J., Ye, Q. & Dittmann, S. 2017. Complex movement patterns of greenback flounder (Rhombosolea tapirina) in the Murray River estuary and Coorong, Australia - Journal of Sea Research 122: 1-10 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seares.2017.01.008
Earl, J. & Ye, Q. 2016. Greenback flounder (Rhombosolea tapirina) Stock Assessment Report 2014/15. Report to PIRSA Fisheries and Aquaculture. South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences), Adelaide. SARDI Publication No. F2007/000315-2. SARDI Research Report Series No. 889. 40 pp. PDF available
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Ferguson, G. 2006. Fisheries biology of the greenback flounder Rhombosolea tapirina (Günther 1862) (Teleostei: Pleuronectidae) in South Australia. Report for PIRSA Fisheries. South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences), Adelaide, RD06/0008-1. 18 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.
Günther, A. 1862. Catalogue of the Fishes in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Acanthopterygii Pharyngognathi and Anacanthini in the collection of the British Museum. London : British Museum Vol. 4 534 pp. (described as both Rhombosolea monopus and R. tapirina) See ref at BHL
Günther, A. 1863. On new species of fishes from Victoria, South Australia. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 3 11(17): 114-117 (described as Rhombosolea flesoides) See ref at BHL
Jenkins, G.P. 1986. Composition, seasonality and distribution of ichthyoplankton in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 37: 507-520.
Jenkins, G.P. 1987. Age and growth of co-occurring larvae of two flounder species, Rhombosolea tapirina and Ammotretis rostratus. Marine Biology 95: 157-166.
Jenkins, G.P. 1987. Comparative diets, prey selection, and predatory impact of co-occurring larvae of two flounder species. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 110: 147-170.
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Jenkins, G.P., Shaw, M. & Stewart, B.D. 1993. Spatial variation in food-limited growth of juvenile Greenback Flounder, Rhombosolea tapirina: evidence from otolith daily increments and otolith scaling. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science 50: 2558-2567.
Jenkins, G.P. & Wheatley, M.J. 1998. The influence of habitat structure on nearshore fish assemblages in a southern Australian embayment: comparison of shallow seagrass, reef-algal and unvegetated sand habitats, with emphasis on their importance to recruitment. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 221: 147-172.
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Last, P.R., Scott, E.O.G. & Talbot, F.H. 1983. Fishes of Tasmania. Hobart : Tasmanian Fisheries Development Authority 563 pp. figs.
May, H.M.A. & Jenkins, G.P. 1992. Patterns of settlement and growth of juvenile flounder, Rhombosolea tapirina, determined from otolith microstructure. Marine Ecology Progress Series 79: 203-214. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44634801
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