Dappled Sole, Aseraggodes melanostictus (Peters 1877)

Other Names: Dark-spotted Sole, Dotted Sole

Summary:

A pale brown sole with darker scale edges, faint irregular dark–edged pale markings over head and body, and very irregular dark brown blotches, most much larger than eye, the two largest on lateral line to either side of middle of body; fins with dark dots (Randall 2005).

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2016, Aseraggodes melanostictus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 25 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/4717

Dappled Sole, Aseraggodes melanostictus (Peters 1877)

More Info

Distribution	Arnhem Bay, Northern Territory, to off Camden Head, New South Wales. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, west Pacific.
Features	Dorsal fin 74–75, unbranched; Anal fin 53–54, unbranched; Caudal fin 18 (uppermost and lowermost 2 rays simple, middle 12 double-branched); Pelvic fin 5, unbranched; Lateral-line scales on ocular side 78–79, including 9 anterior to a vertical at upper end of gill opening; Vertebrae 38. Scales of ocular side of body with 12–16 cteni; scales anteriorly on head progressively shorter, with fewer cteni, modified to small flattened papillae, each with a small flat brown cirrus in zone anteriorly on snout; no broad lappet–like cirri at front of snout or on ventral edge of head, instead cylindrical cirri of variable size, the longest less than pupil diameter; well-spaced slender cirri on opercular edge of gill opening on both sides; dorsal pterygiophores anterior to fourth neural spine 11–13; body depth 2.3–2.35 in SL; HL 4.35–4.5 in SL; snout slightly overhanging lower lip when mouth closed; lateral line directed anteriorly toward dorsal edge of upper eye; eye diameter 6.4–6.8 in HL; upper eye overlapping anterior one-half to three-fourths of lower eye; least vertical interorbital space 8.3–8.6 in HL; upper end of gill opening at level of ventral edge of lower eye; no caudal-peduncle; depth at base of caudal fin 1.5–1.65 in HL; longest dorsal ray 1.45 in HL; caudal fin rounded, 5.1–5.8 in SL; ocular-side pelvic fin on ventral edge of body, its base slightly anterior to that of fin of blind side; third pelvic ray longest, 2.0–2.8 in HL, the tip reaching base of second anal ray; lengthwise membranous ridge on dorsal rays of both sides, progressively reduced posteriorly; small scales on about basal half of membranous ridge of anterior dorsal rays of ocular side; edge of membranous ridge of about first 15 blind-side dorsal rays with prominent cirri.
Colour	In preservative: eyed-side light brown, the scale edges darker than centres with faint irregular dark–edged pale markings over head and body, and very irregular dark brown blotches, most much larger than eye, the two largest on lateral line to either side of middle of body; fins with dark dots.
Species Citation	Solea (Achirus) melanosticta Peters 1877, Monatsberichte der Königlichen Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1876: 845. Type locality: Bougainville Island, Solomon Islands, 40 fathoms.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2016
Resources	Australian Faunal Directory

Dappled Sole, Aseraggodes melanostictus (Peters 1877)

References

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.

Marshall, T.C. 1964. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coastal Waters of Queensland. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 566 pp. 136 pls.

Munroe, T.A. 2001. Soleidae, Cynoglossidae. pp. 3878-3901 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.

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

Peters, W.C.H. 1877. Übersicht der während der von 1874 bis 1876 unter dem Kommando des Hrn. Kapitän z. S. Freiherrn von Schleinitz ausgeführten Reise S.M.S. Gazelle gesammelten und von der Kaiserlichen Admiralität der Königlichen Akadamie der Wissenschaften äbersandte Fische. Monatsberichte der Königlichen Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1876: 831-854

Randall, J.E. 2005. A review of soles of the genus Aseraggodes from the South Pacific, with descriptions of seven new species and a diagnosis of Synclidopus. Memoirs of Museum Victoria 62(2): 191-212 PDF Open access

Randall, J.E. & Allen, G. R. 2007. Aseraggodes crypticus, a new sole (Pleuronectiformes: Soleidae) from Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Records of the Western Australian Museum 24(1): 109-112 PDF Open access