Speckled Sanddab

Speckled Sanddab, Citharichthys stigmaeus

Speckled Sanddab, Citharichthys stigmaeus, Juvenile. Fish caught off the Municipal Wharf #2, Monterey, California, August 2012. Length: 7.6 cm (3.0 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Kenneth Tse, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Speckled Sanddab, Citharichthys stigmaeus, Juvenile. Fish caught in coastal waters off San Diego, California, February 2020. Length: 8.2 cm (3.2 inches). Catch, photographs and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, San Diego, California.

Speckled Sanddab, Citharichthys stigmaeus, Juvenile. Fish caught off the Coast Guard Pier, Monterey, California, August 2019. Length: 10.1 cm (4.0 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Speckled Sanddab, Citharichthys stigmaeus. Fish caught from coastal waters off Barview, Oregon, June 2020. Length: 24 cm (9.4 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Speckled Sanddab, Citharichthys stigmaeus. A rare right eyed fish!  Fish caught from coastal waters off Brookings, Oregon, August 2021. Length: 25 cm 9.8 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

The Speckled Sanddab, Citharichthys stigmaeus, is a member of the Sand Flounder or Paralichthyidae Family, and is known in Mexico as lenguado pecoso. Globally, there are twenty-four species in the genus Citharichthys, of which nine are found in Mexican waters, one in the Atlantic and eight in the Pacific Ocean.

The Speckled Sanddab is a flatfish with an elongated oval body that has a depth that is 40% to 46% of standard length. They are tan to olive-brown in color and their body and fins are covered with numerous black specks on the dorsal side. Their ventral side is off-white. They also have three dark blotches along their lateral line (not visible in the juvenile pictured below). They have the ability to change colors to match their surroundings. Their head has large eyes on the left side which are set above the body and are close together with a flat space in-between. They have a medium length mouth that ends under the center of the lower eye. They are equipped with one series of immovable teeth on each jaw and have enlarged front teeth. Their anal fin has 58 to 77 rays; their caudal fin is rounded; their dorsal fin originates 2 or 3 rays before the upper eye and has 75 to 97 rays; their pectoral fins are short and do not reach the eye when folded forward; and the pelvic fin on their eye-side is found on the midline of the body. They have 8 to 10 short slender gill rakers. They are covered with rough scales. Their lateral line is straight and gradually arches over their pectoral fin.

The Speckled Sanddab is a demersal species that is over sandy and muddy bottoms at depths up to 365 m (1,200 feet). They can survive in brackish waters and in temperatures as low as 8.2ºC (47ºF). They reach a maximum of 19.2 cm (7.6 inches) in length and 450 grams (1  lb 0 oz) in weight. Females grow faster and are larger than males. They are non-migratory ambush predators that spend the majority of their time half-submerged in substrate awaiting prey to pass. They are daytime feeders and consume a wide variety of crustaceans and small fish. In turn they are preyed upon by a variety of marine mammals, larger fish, and sea birds. Reproduction is oviparous with females producing between 4,100 and 30,800 eggs three times a year. They have a lifespan of up to four years. The Speckled Sanddab 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 Speckled Sanddab is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but has a limited distribution being found from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, northward along the central and northwest coasts of Baja. There is also an isolated population found in Conception Bay north of Loreto within the Sea of Cortez.

The Speckled Sanddab can be easily confused with the Gulf Sanddab, Citharichthys fragilis (long pectoral fin; 18 lower gill rakers), the Longfin Sanddab, Citharichthys xanthostigma (pelvic fin reaching snout tip when folded forward), and the Pacific Sanddab, Citharichthys sordidus (pectoral fins reaching eyes when folded forward; 15 or 16 gill rakers).

From a conservation perspective the Speckled Sanddab has not been formally evaluated. Due to their small stature they are of limited interest to most but they are retained by subsistence fishermen. They are sold commercially on a very limited basis in the fish markets of Baja California. They are a minor target of recreational fishermen and are also caught as a by-catch by bottom trawlers; however, the majority of fish is discarded. They date to the Late Pliocene Period, 1,800,000 years ago.