Blue Flounder

Ground colour on eyed side brownish grey, with darker spots and blotches. Fins paler than body, dorsal and anal fins with small dark spots, caudal fin with 2 distinct dark bands. Males with small dark spots in anterior part of interorbital region. Blind side whitish in females. Males with distinct bluish black pyriform colour pattern on blind side. Body ovoid, its depth 1.7 to 2 times in SL. Head small, snout shorter than eye, profile steep anterior to interorbital area. Head length 3.3 to 4.5 times in SL. Interorbital region broad and concave, wider in males than females in specimens greater than about 6 cm SL. Males with a rostral spine and 1 to 3 low bony bumps around orbits. Both eyes on left side of head, front margin of upper eye slightly behind front margin of lower eye. Both eyes in males larger than about 6 cm SL with a flap on posterior area. Mouth small, reaching to or slightly beyond anterior margin of lower eye, length of upper jaw 3.1 to 4.3 times in head length. Teeth in upper jaw biserial, teeth of outer row more widely spaced than teeth of inner row; teeth in lower jaw uniserial. Gill rakers short and pointed. Scales on eyed side with long ctenii. Pectoral fin on eyed side with 11 to 14 rays, its length 1.3 to 1.6 times in head length in both sexes. Pectoral fin on blind side with 9 to 12 rays (Ref 42535).

Dorsal soft rays (total): 84 - 92; Analsoft rays: 63 - 74

Lives on mud bottoms and feeds on bottom-living animals.

Lives on mud bottoms and feeds on bottom-living animals (Ref. 9824). Sexually dimorphic characters develop at about 6 cm SL (Ref. 9824).

fisheries: of no interest

分布於印度-西太平洋區，西起孟加拉灣，北至日本，南至澳洲西北部。台灣南部、西部及澎湖海域可見。

通常是用底拖網或底流刺網捕捉，體型較小，一般皆加工作扁魚酥或以下雜魚般利用。

體卵圓形，兩眼均在左側，背緣突起，前部幾近垂直。頭小。吻短鈍；眼間隔極寬具凹陷。口小；上頜骨短，上頜延伸至下眼前緣前下方；無副上頜骨；上頜二行齒尖銳錐狀齒，外列齒間寬於內列齒，下頜齒具一行；腭骨無齒。眼側被強櫛鱗，盲側被圓鱗；背鰭與臀鰭鰭條均被鱗；眼側具側線，盲側無側線。第一鰓弓鰓耙數0-4+6-9。背鰭鰭條正常，軟條數84-92；臀鰭鰭條正常，軟條數63-74；胸鰭短於頭長；左右腹鰭不對稱；尾鰭尖圓形。體灰褐色至綠褐色，散佈許多暗色小斑點。背及臀鰭散布暗色小斑點，尾鰭具二條暗色帶；盲側灰白色，雄魚體側中部常具有一前後呈弧狀的水梨型或錐型藍黑色斑塊。以前常被誤鑑為雙帶纓鮃(/Crossorhombus kanekonis/)。

主要棲息於大陸棚砂泥質的海域。肉食性魚類，主要捕食底棲性的甲殼類或是其它種類的小魚。平時不太愛活動，大半時間潛藏在砂泥底中，和棲息的背景環境幾乎完美融合一體，藉以欺敵捕食。