Yellowtail flounder

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Yellowtail flounder
An image of the brown oval-shaped upperside of the yellowtail flounder
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Pleuronectiformes
Family: Pleuronectidae
Genus: Limanda
Species:
L. ferruginea
Binomial name
Limanda ferruginea
(Storer, 1839)
Topological relief map of the Northeast United States and Atlantic Canada, showing the range of Limanda ferruginea along the continental shelf in red
  Range
Synonyms
  • Platessa ferruginea Storer, 1839
  • Pleuronectes ferruginea (Storer, 1839)
  • Pleuronectes ferrugineus (Storer, 1839)
  • Limanda vulgaris Gottsche, 1835
  • Limanda oceanica Bonaparte, 1846

The yellowtail flounder (Limanda ferruginea), also known as the rusty dab[2] or simply flounder, is a species of flatfish in the family Pleuronectidae. Reaching 56 cm (22 in) in length, it has reddish brown upperparts, pale underparts and yellow fins. Both its eyes are on the right (upper) side of its body. Found in the western North Atlantic,[3][4] it has been fished commercially by North American fisheries for food. A victim of overfishing, the yellowtail flounder is categorized as "Vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Taxonomy[]

The yellowtail flounder was originally described by German naturalist Carl Moritz Gottsche as Limanda vulgaris in the Archiv für Naturgeschichte in 1835.[5][6] It was later documented as Platessa ferruginea by David Humphreys Storer in 1839, who noted the similarity between it and Limanda limanda (then considered to be in the genus Pleuronectes).[7] Later, both P. limanda and P. ferruginea were reclassified into the genus Limanda.[5][8] Meanwhile, American zoologist Theodore Gill had placed it in the new genus Myzopsetta in 1861.[9]

According to 1996 research from the University of Ottawa, L. ferruginea shares several morphologies with Limanda aspera, but that the monophyly of the genus Limanda as a whole is unlikely.[10] A 2018 cladistic morphological and genetic analysis found that the genus Limanda is not monophyletic; L. ferruginea and its relatives the longhead dab (L. proboscidea) and speckled flounder (L. punctatissima) are in a different subfamily to the other members of the genus and should be (once again) placed in the genus Myzopsetta.[11]

Description[]

The yellowtail flounder is a wide flatfish with an ovoid body. The name "yellowtail" comes from the distinctly yellowish color of its fins (including tail fin); the fish's upper side is reddish brown with irregular "rusty" spots, while the underside is white with a yellow caudal peduncle (area between body and tail). Being a right-eyed flounder (of the family Pleuronectidae), both its eyes are on the right side of the fish's body, though the eyes are symmetrical just after hatching.[4][12] They are thinner than other flatfish.[13]

The fish's head is approximately a quarter as long as the total body and is scaly. The eye's diameter is approximately one fifth the length of the head. The yellowtail flounder has a prominent lower jaw with broad lips, about as long as the eye. The scales are ciliated (having hair-like protrusions) and appear on the head as well. The teeth are small.[14]

According to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), they can grow to a length of 22 inches (56 cm), weighing up to 2.2 pounds (1.00 kg).[4][12] Yellowtail flounder up to 17 lb (7.7 kg) have been caught before.[15]

Distribution and habitat[]

The yellowtail flounder is found off the east coast of North America, as far north as Newfoundland and southern Labrador and as far south as Chesapeake Bay. It is common on the Scotian Shelf, on ocean banks such as the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and Georges Bank.[16]

Three fish stocks exist in US waters: in the Gulf of Maine area, on Georges Bank, and off southern New England and the Mid-Atlantic.[4] In Canada, yellowtail are concentrated in NAFO divisions 4X (Browns Bank, near Georges Bank, at

 WikiMiniAtlas
42°49′37″N 66°13′02″W / 42.826895°N 66.217355°W / 42.826895; -66.217355), 4W (Sable Island Bank,
 WikiMiniAtlas
43°49′50″N 60°50′12″W / 43.83067°N 60.836686°W / 43.83067; -60.836686), and 4V (Banquereau,
 WikiMiniAtlas
44°32′08″N 58°35′02″W / 44.535498°N 58.583968°W / 44.535498; -58.583968).[16][17]

The larvae of L. ferruginea remain near the surface for two months, but after maturing to a length of at least 14 mm (0.55 in) they dwell on sandy or muddy seafloors at a depth between 100 and 350 feet (30 and 107 m).[4][15]

Ecology[]

Yellowtail flounders have been reported to live up to 17 years, but most die by age 7. They mature relatively early with females being able to reproduce by age 3. Spawning in the spring and summer, the eggs (measuring approximately 0.9 mm (0.035 in) in diameter) float to the surface and drift for approximately two months.[4][13]

They eat crustaceans (including amphipods, shrimps, mysids, and shellfish) as well as marine worms, and are preyed on by other fish such as spiny dogfish and skate.[4][13]

Yellowtail flounders are able to camouflage, changing the pattern of their skin to mimic the seafloor.[15]

Fishing and conservation[]

In the US, fishing of yellowtail flounder is governed by the NMFS. More than 980,000 pounds (440,000 kg) of yellowtail flounder was commercially caught in American waters in 2018, valued at over $1 million.[4] In federal waters, there is a minimum allowed size of 13 in (330 mm).[15]

Populations of fishable yellowtail flounder have declined from the 1980s into the late 1990s in Canada, especially in divisions 4V and 4W, after which the rate of fishery declined.[16] L. ferruginea is currently categorized as "Vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.[1] According to the University of Maine, yellowtail flounder are being overfished, as well as several other species of flounder.[18] According to NMFS, the fishing rate is being reduced at Georges Bank and there are rebuilding plans to increase populations of all three stocks.[4]

Yellowtail flounders are fished between late fall and spring, usually with a trawl net or gillnet.[4][18]

As food[]

Yellowtail flounder is sweet and mild, while being a lean source of B vitamins, including niacin. The texture is delicate and flaky.[12][18][19]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Sobel, J. (1996). "Pleuronectes ferrugineus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T17710A7362225. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T17710A7362225.en. Downloaded on 25 March 2018.
  2. ^ "Rusty dab". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  3. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2018). "Limanda ferruginea" in FishBase. February 2018 version.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j NOAA Fisheries (2021-08-30). "Yellowtail Flounder | NOAA Fisheries". NOAA. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  5. ^ a b "Limanda ferruginea (Storer, 1839)". WoRMS – World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  6. ^ Archiv für Naturgeschichte (in German). Nicolai. 1835. pp. 160–161.
  7. ^ Storer, David Humphreys; Peabody, William Bourn Oliver (1839). Reports on the Fishes, Reptiles and Birds of Massachusetts. Dutton and Wentworth, State Printers. pp. 142–143.
  8. ^ "Limanda limanda (Linnaeus, 1758)". WoRMS – World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  9. ^ Gill, Theodore N. (1861). "Catalogue of the fishes of the eastern coast of North America, from Greenland to Georgia". Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 13: 1–63 [51].
  10. ^ Cooper, J. Andrew. (1996). Monophyly and intrarelationships of the family Pleuronectidae (Pleuronectiformes), with a revised classification (PhD thesis). Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa. pp. 103–104. doi:10.20381/RUOR-16625.
  11. ^ Vinnikov, Kirill A.; Thomson, Robert C.; Munroe, Thomas A. (2018). "Revised classification of the righteye flounders (Teleostei: Pleuronectidae) based on multilocus phylogeny with complete taxon sampling". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 125: 147–162. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.03.014. PMID 29535031.
  12. ^ a b c "Yellowtail Flounder". ThisFish. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  13. ^ a b c "Yellowtail Flounder". Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  14. ^ Günther, Albert Carl Ludwig Gotthilf (1861). Catalogue of the Fishes in the British Museum. Wheldon & Wesley. p. 447.
  15. ^ a b c d "Yellowtail Flounder". Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  16. ^ a b c Fisheries and Oceans Canada (2016-12-19). "Yellowtail Flounder". Government of Canada. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  17. ^ Natural Resources Canada. "Place names – Query by name". Government of Canada. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  18. ^ a b c "Maine Seafood Guide – Flounder". Maine Sea Grant. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  19. ^ "Yellowtail Flounder | FishWatch". FishWatch. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
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