Largetooth Flounder, Pseudorhombus arsius (Hamilton 1822)


Other Names: Large-tooth Flounder, Large-toothed Flounder

A Largetooth Flounder, Pseudorhombus arsius, at Clifton Gardens, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, August 2015. Source: John Turnbull / Flickr. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:
A greenish or brownish left-eyed flounder with a large dark blotch at front of the straight part of the lateral line and a second midway to the tail, often with large dark spots or rings that are sometimes encircled with small whitish spots, and small dark brown spots on the fins.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2020, Pseudorhombus arsius in Fishes of Australia, accessed 09 Dec 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/4708

Largetooth Flounder, Pseudorhombus arsius (Hamilton 1822)

More Info


Distribution

Widespread in Australia, from Cockburn Sound, Western Australia, around the tropical north to the Gippsland Lakes, Victoria, and from Cape Jervis to off Venus Bay, South Australia; also Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, and reefs in the Coral Sea. The Largetooth Flounder is uncommon in Victoria and Tasmania. Elsewhere the species is widespread in tropical and subtropical areas from the East African coast to the Western Central Pacific.
Inhabits silty and sandy areas in estuaries and coastal waters.

Features

Dorsal fin 71–84; Anal fin 53–62; Caudal fin 15; Pectoral fin (eyed side) 12–13; Pelvic fin 6; Lateral-line scales 69–81; Gill rakers 1–7 + 8–15.
Body depth 43–56% SL; head length 28–30% SL, dorsal profile of head with slight notch in front of upper eye; upper eye diameter 16–23% HL; upper jaw length 37–46% HL; teeth small except for several pairs of enlarged canines anteriorly in each jaw; gill rakers pointed, longer than broad; scales ctenoid on eyed side, cycloid on blind side; dorsal fin origin in front of upper eye, above anterior nostrils. Scales on eyed side ctenoid, cyclolid on blind side.

Size

D 71 - 84; A 53 - 62; P1 (eyed side) 12 - 13; LL 69 - 81. Dorsal profile of head with a slight notch in front of eye. Upper jaw reaching below posterior edge of lower eye. Several pairs of canine teeth in anterior parts of both jaws. Dorsal fin origin in front of upper eye. 

Colour

Eyed side greenish or brownish with dark blotch at front of straight part of lateral line and 2nd midway to tail, often with large dark spots or rings, sometimes encircled with small whitish spots;  fins with small dark brown spots;  blind side whitish.

Etymology

The specific name arsius is derived from arsi, the common name for this species in Calcutta, India, the type locality.

Species Citation

Pleuronectes arsius Hamilton 1822, An Account of the Fishes Found in the River Ganges and its Branches: 128, 373. Type locality: estuary below Calcutta, India [Bay of Bengal].

Author

Bray, D.J. 2020

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Largetooth Flounder, Pseudorhombus arsius (Hamilton 1822)

References


Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls. 

Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls. 

Amaoka, K. 1969. Studies on the sinestral flounders found in the waters around Japan. Taxonomy, anatomy, and physiology. Journal of the Shimonoseki College of Fisheries 18: 65-340 

Amaoka, K. & Hensley, D.A. 2001. Paralichthyidae. pp. 3842-3862 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 6 pp. 3381-4218. 

Blaber, S.J.M. 1980. Fish of the Trinity Inlet System of North Queensland with notes on the ecology of fish faunas of tropical Indo-Pacific estuaries. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 31: 137-146. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF9800137

Blaber, S.J.M., Young, J.W. & Dunning, M.C. 1985. Community structure and zoogeographic affinities of the coastal fishes of the Dampier region of north-western Australia. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 36: 247-266. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF9850247

Bleeker, P. 1853. Diagnostische beschrijvingen van nieuwe of weinig bekende vischsoorten van Batavia. Tiental I–VI. Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië 4: 451-516 (as Rhombus polyspilos) See ref at BHL

De Vis, C.W. 1882. Descriptions of some new Queensland fishes. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 1 7(3): 367-371 (described as Pleuronectes mortoniensis) See ref at BHL

De Vis, C.W. 1886. Donations. Queensland Museum (Report of Board of Trustees for the year 1885) 1885: 1-15 (described as Neorhombus ocellatus)

Gomon, M.F. 1994. Family Bothidae. pp. 844-850, figs 747-752 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 Paralichthyidae. pp. 806-807 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. 

Hamilton, F. 1822. An Account of the Fishes Found in the River Ganges and its Branches. Edinburgh : Archibald Constable 405 pp., pls 1-39. See ref at BHL

Hensley, D.A. 1986. Family No. 269: Bothidae. pp. 854-863 in Smith, M.M. & Heemstra, P.C. (eds). Smith's Sea Fishes. Johannesburg : Macmillan South Africa xx + 1047 pp. 144 pls. 

Hoschke, A., Whisson, G. & Moore, G.I. 2019. Complete list of fishes from Rottnest Island. pp. 150-161 in Whisson, G. & Hoschke, A. (eds) The Rottnest Island fish book. 2nd ed. Perth : Aqua Research and Monitoring Services.

Hutchins, J.B. 2003. Checklist of marine fishes of the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. pp. 453-478 in Wells, F.E., Walker, D.I., & Jones, D.S. (eds). Proceedings of the Eleventh International Marine Biological Workshop: The Marine Flora and Fauna of Dampier, Western Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum. 

Johnson, J.W. 1999. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 43(2): 709-762 

Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. pp. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3) 

Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp. 

Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. A comprehensive reference for divers and fishermen. Sydney, NSW, Australia : New Holland Publishers xvii, 434 pp.

Larson, H.K. & Williams, R.S. 1997. Darwin Harbour fishes: a survey and annotated checklist. pp. 339-380 in Hanley, H.R., Caswell, G., Megirian, D. & Larson, H.K. (eds). The Marine Flora and Fauna of Darwin Harbour, Northern Territory, Australia. Proceedings of the Sixth International Marine Biology Workshop. Darwin : Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory 466 pp. 

Macleay, W.J. 1881. Descriptive catalogue of the fishes of Australia. Part 3. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 1 6(1): 1-138 pls 1-2 (described as Teratorhombus excisiceps) 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. 

Norman, J.R. 1937. Fishes. Report of the British, Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition 1(2): 49-88 figs 1-11 

Ramm, D.C., Pender, P.J., Willing, R.S. & Buckworth, R.C. 1990. Large-scale spatial patterns of abundance within the assemblage of fish caught by prawn trawlers in Northern Australian waters. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 41(1): 79-95. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF9900079

Richardson, J. 1843. Contributions to the ichthyology of Australia. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 1 11(73): 489-498 (described as Rhombus lentiginosus) See ref at BHL

Russell, B.C. & Houston, W. 1989. Offshore fishes of the Arafura Sea. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 6(1): 69-84

Travers, M.J. & Potter, I.C. 2002. Factors influencing the characteristics of fish assemblages in a large subtropical marine embayment. Journal of Fish Biology 61(3):764-784. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.2002.tb00910.x

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37460009

Depth:3-178 m

Habitat:Sandy/muddy areas

Max Size:45 cm SL

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Species Maps

CAAB distribution map