Foureye Flounder, Hippoglossina tetrophthalma
Foureye Flounder, Hippoglossina tetrophthalma. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of Bahía Kino, Sonora, March 2015. Length: 22 cm (8.7 inches). Photograph courtesy of Maria Johnson, Prescott College Kino Bay Center, Kino Bay, Sonora. An atypical right-eyed fish!
Foureye Flounder, Hippoglossina tetrophthalma. Provided by the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, June 2007. Length: 40 cm (16 inches).
The Foureye Flounder, Hippoglossina tetrophthalma, whose common Spanish name is lenguado cuatrojos, is a member of the Sand Flounder or Paralichthyidae Family, that is also known as the Fourspot Flounder and in Mexicio as lenguado cuatrojos. Globally, there are five members of the genus Hippoglossina, of which three are found in Mexican waters, all in the Pacific Ocean.
The Foureye Flounder is a flatfish with an elongated oval body with a depth that is 40% to 44% of standard length. Their eye side is dark brown and covered with small white spots. They have two pairs of ocellated black spots on the rear half of their body and the base of their pectoral fin also has a black spot. Their blind side is off-white. They have a fairly large head with a long mouth that reaches the rear edge of their lower eye. They have small teeth of equal size that are developed on both jaws. Their eyes on the majority of fish are on the left side, set close together and parallel. Their anal fin has 58 to 62 rays; their caudal fin is broad and pointed; their dorsal has 76 to 83 rays and originates over the top eye; their pectoral fin is short and are 50% of the head length on the eye side; and, their pelvic fins are symmetrical. They have 11 or 12 short thick gill rakers on their lower arch. They are covered with large scales. Their lateral line is arched and originates just behind their eyes and extends to their caudal base.
The Foureye Flounder is a demersal species that is found over and within sandy and muddy bottoms at depths between 23 m (75 feet) and 235 m (770 feet). They reach a maximum of 40 cm (16 inches) in length. They are opportunistic and well-camouflaged ambush predators that lie in wait half submerged on the ocean floor. The Foureye Flounder is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.
The Foureye Flounder is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean with the exception that they are absent from Guerrero Negro, Baja California northward along the central and northwest coasts of Baja.
The Foureye Flounder cannot be confused with any other species due to the spotting on the rear half of its dorsal side.
From a conservation perspective the Foureye Flounder is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are considered an excellent food fish and are sold commercially. The majority are caught as a by-catch of deep water shrimp trawlers.