Speckledtail Flounder, Engyophrys sanctilaurentii
Speckledtail Flounder, Engyophrys sanctilaurentii. Fish caught from coastal waters off Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, May 2014. Length: 8.3 cm (3.3 inches). Provided via regurgitation by a 28 cm Greater Sand Perch, Diplectum maximum, which is reflective of the condition of the fish. Identification courtesy of H.J. Walker, Jr., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California.
The Speckledtail Flounder, Engyophrys sanctilaurentii, is a member of the Lefteye Flounder or Bothidae Family, and is known in Mexico as lenguado colimanchada. Globally, there are two species in the genus Engyophrys, both of which are found in Mexican waters, one in the Atlantic and this fish in the Pacific Ocean.
The Speckledtail Flounder has an elongated oval body with a depth that is 38% to 42% of standard length. Their dorsal side has a dark brown coloration featuring scattered black and white spots with the black spots being prominent along the base of their anal and dorsal fins. They have three large black spots along their lateral line, above their pectoral fin tip, at the rear of their body, and on their caudal peduncle. Their caudal fin has 5 black spots that form a band across the middle after which they are named. Their blind side, which is dark in its back half, has 5 or 6 dusky crossbars, 2 on the operculum and 4 behind the front half. They have a small mouth with a short snout and a pair of fairly large eyes on the left side that are set close together with the lower eye well in front of the upper eye. They have small teeth. Their dorsal fin originates just before the top eye and their eyed-side pectoral fin is larger than the blind-side pectoral fin. They have 5 or 6 small gill rakers. Their lateral line is prominent and strongly arched over the pectoral fins. Their body is covered with rough scales.
The Speckledtail Flounder is found over and within soft muddy, sandy, and shell bottoms at depths between 49 m (160 feet) and 213 m (700 feet). They are uniquely colored to blend with the substratum. They reach a maximum of 20.0 cm (7.9 inches) in length. They feed on small fish and crustaceans. The Speckletail 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 Speckledtail Flounder is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific with the exception that they are absent from the extreme northern portions of the Sea of Cortez.
The Speckledtail Flounder is very similar to the Small Sanddab, Citharichthys platophrys, and the Speckled Sanddab, Citharichthys stigmaeus, but both lack the distinctive barring pattern on their ventral or blind side.
From a conservation perspective the Speckledtail Flounder is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are small in stature, seldom seen by humans, and are of limited interest to most.