Fish ID help
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divekim
Contributor
It's gonna be tough for anyone to ID for certain without seeing the entire fish......that being said, Turbot's and Sole's have their buggy little eyes on top, Flounders do not.
Kim
Kim
Frank O
Contributor
Hi Gary, it looks to me like it's probably the same species as this flatfish I ran across a few years ago at Indian Rock at Catalina:
Someone at the time ventured the opinion that it was a speckled sanddab, Citharichthys stigmaeus. However, I believe that species is supposed to be left-eyed, whereas yours and mine look to me to be right-eyed. (The eyes have migrated over onto the right side of the "face.") So I don't think I ever thought I arrived at a definitive answer. Then again, I've heard that some species that are usually left-eyed can produce right-eyed individuals, and vice-versa. So I wonder if yours and mine could be a case of that? Cheers,
Someone at the time ventured the opinion that it was a speckled sanddab, Citharichthys stigmaeus. However, I believe that species is supposed to be left-eyed, whereas yours and mine look to me to be right-eyed. (The eyes have migrated over onto the right side of the "face.") So I don't think I ever thought I arrived at a definitive answer. Then again, I've heard that some species that are usually left-eyed can produce right-eyed individuals, and vice-versa. So I wonder if yours and mine could be a case of that? Cheers,
scottfiji
Contributor
Like Kim said, you can't really id a flatfish from a photo like that.
however, based on the habitat shown in your photo, its probably a C-O Sole, those are usually what I see at casino point in the areas with algae growth on the floor. But that's just a guess.
Scott
however, based on the habitat shown in your photo, its probably a C-O Sole, those are usually what I see at casino point in the areas with algae growth on the floor. But that's just a guess.
Scott
Thanks. I had it as a California Flounder due to the shape. I also thought it could've been the speckeld sanddab. Never heard of the C-O Sole. Interesting. I'm sure its in a book somewhere but most of the pictures I ran across were those caught while fishing so the colorations were skewed.
C-O Sole is on page 123 of "Coastal Fish Identification" (1996, Humann ISBN 1-878348-12-4). This is a must have book for So Cal diving. To me, I would have said Rock Sole from the markings - but of course - as has already been said - you need a full body shot for flatty id's...
C-O sole (or turbot) are quite common in the waters of Casino Point. The tail would be useful in identification because it has a dark spot and a crescent on it (hence the "C" and "O"). They have very buggy eyes. C-O sole are fairly good at camouflage so their coloration is highly variable. I've sen ones that mimic the coralline red algae on the rocks and they can be quite beautiful to film. I've also filmed them attempting to mate in our waters... the female kept swimming out from under the male when he caught up with her.
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