Banded-fin Flounder, Azygopus pinnifasciatus Norman 1926

Other Names: Bandedfin Flounder

Summary:

A relatively small brownish flounder with several darker, irregular large blotches on the upper side, dark bands on the dorsal and anal fins, and dark caudal-fin membranes. The blind side is peppered with numerous, small, reddish-brown spots.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2022, Azygopus pinnifasciatus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 04 Oct 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/986

Banded-fin Flounder, Azygopus pinnifasciatus Norman 1926

More Info

Distribution	Endemic to southern Australia from off Cape Hawke, New South Wales, to southwest of Esperance, Western Australia, including around Tasmania, at depths to 900 m (most abundant at 400–600 m) on the continental shelf and slope. Inhabits soft sediment areas.
Colour	Ocular-side brown with diffuse, circular or sometimes ring-shaped blotches, and many scale pockets with distinct black outlines. Blind-side scales with several to many reddish-brown pepper-dot melanophores, that are especially numerous on the scales overlying the proximal pterygiophores of the dorsal and anal fins.
Feeding	Feeds on bentbhic invertebrates.
Biology	The biology, ecology and life history of this species is unknown.
Fisheries	Taken as by-catch in deepwater trawl fisheries.
Remarks	In most earlier publications, this species was confused with the similar Azygopus flemingi, found in New Zealand waters (Munro 2012).
Species Citation	Azygopus pinnifasciatus Norman, 1926, Biol. Res. F.I.S. Endeavour 1909-1914 5(5): 262, fig. 10. Type locality: Great Australian Bight, 126°30'E, southwestern from Eucla, Australia.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2022
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Banded-fin Flounder, Azygopus pinnifasciatus Norman 1926

References

Bulman, C., Althaus, F., He, X., Bax, N.J. & Williams, A. 2001. Diets and trophic guilds of demersal fishes of the south-eastern Australian shelf. Marine and Freshwater Research 52: 537–548.

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 (Austral Righteye Flounders). pp. 810–816 in M.F. Gomon, D.J. Bray & R.H. Kuiter (eds). Fishes of Australia’s Southern Coast. Reed New Holland, Sydney. 928 pp.

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.

Munroe, T.A. 2012. The spotted flounder, Azygopus flemingi Nielsen 1961 (Pisces: Pleuronectiformes: Rhombosoleidae), from deep waters off New Zealand: a second valid specis of Azygopus Norman 1926, with notes on distribution, size, maturity, and ecology. Zootaxa 3297: 1-33. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3297.1.1

Munroe, T.A. 2021. Azygopus pinnifasciatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T158645678A158674007. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T158645678A158674007.en. Accessed on 25 October 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

Norman, J.R. 1934. A Systematic Monograph of the Flatfishes (Heterosomata) Psettodidae, Bothidae, Pleuronectidae. London : British Museum Vol. 1 459 pp. 317 figs.

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

Williams, A., Althaus, F., Pogonoski, J., Osterhage, D., Gomon, M., Graham, K., Appleyard, S.A., Gledhill, D., Bray, D., McMillan, P., Green, M., Doyle, S., Graham, A., Tanner, J. & Ross, A. 2018. Composition, diversity and biogeographic affinities of the deep-sea (200–3000 m) fish assemblage in the Great Australian Bight, Australia. Deep-Sea Research Part II: 92-105.