Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 100 m (Ref. 5979), usually 0 - 20 m (Ref. 40849). Tropical; 34°N - 25°S, 91°W - 5°E
Western Atlantic: Florida (USA), Bermuda, and the Bahamas to Brazil. Absent in Gulf of Mexico (Ref. 26938). Eastern Atlantic: Ascension Island and the Gulf of Guinea (Ref. 5979).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 46.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5979); common length : 35.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3275)
soft rays: 71 - 76. Gray to brown with numerous circles, curved spots, and dots of light blue on head and body; fins with small light blue spots; two or three large diffuse blackish spots on straight portion of lateral line (Ref. 13442).
Inhabits clear sandy areas near mangroves, among seagrass, coral or rubble (Ref.9710). Most common flounder around coral reefs (Ref. 26938). Often partially buried in sand, occasionally on hard bottoms (Ref. 9710). Feeds mainly on small fishes but also on crustaceans and octopuses. Marketed fresh (Ref. 5217).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p. (Ref. 7251)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 120744)
CITES (Ref. 118484)
Threat to humans
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial
Common namesSynonymsMetabolismPredatorsEcotoxicologyReproductionMaturitySpawningSpawning aggregationFecundityEggsEgg development
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969
): 25.2 - 28, mean 27.3 (based on 368 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01072 (0.00547 - 0.02099), b=3.05 (2.88 - 3.22), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 4.5 ±0.7 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179
): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Moderate to high vulnerability (55 of 100) .