The lined sole (''Achirus lineatus'') is a ray-finned flatfish found in the Western Atlantic. Its common length is 17 cm. Often considered a

trash fish Rough fish (or the slang trash fish or dirt fish) is a term used by some United States state agencies and angling, anglers to describe fish that are less desirable to sport fishing, sport anglers within a defined region. The term usually refers to l ...

in commercial

trawling Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net used for trawling is called a trawl. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch different spec ...

, it is of little or no economic value.

Diet and habitat

Achirus lineatus (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 8 May 1865)

This species feeds on worms, crustaceans and small fishes, and occurs mainly in brackish or hypersaline lagoons, or on sandy-muddy bottoms of estuaries, as well as the littoral zone. It hides itself in the substrate, leaving its eyes uncovered to view prey and predators. It can easily disguise itself in the environment and can be associated with reefs and be found at depths to 20 m.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Reproduction appears to occur year-round, at least in some portions of the animal's range. Juveniles have a brief planktonic life, moving quickly to the benthic stage. Its growth rate is relatively slow.

Distribution

Commonly, it is caught in the Western Atlantic bight:

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and northern

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

to northern Argentina. ''A. lineatus'' is a broadly euryhaline species, having a wide salinity tolerance. Individuals have been collected in near-fresh water from the upper portions of the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries, Florida.

Common misidentified species

Careful examination allows ''A. lineatus'' and other right-eyed achirids to be distinguished from all co-occurring flatfish of the families Bothidae (lefteye flounders) and Cynoglossidae (tonguefishes), all of which have the left side up. The right-eyed flounders of family Pleuronectidae typically inhabit colder waters than ''A. lineatus''. Within the Achiridae, the absence of vertical body bars should be sufficient to distinguish ''A. lineatus'' from three co-occurring species, the naked sole (''Gymnachirus melas'') and fringed sole (''G. texae''). The lined sole is sometimes confused with the hogchoker, (''Trinectes maculatus'') which is distinguished (at over 15 mm total length) by the latter's total lack of

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

rays. Lined sole are also easily differentiated from scrawled sole (''Trinectes inscriptus''), whose side-up body is covered by a network of irregular dark lines.Robins CR, Ray GC, and J Douglas. (1986). ''A Field Guide to Atlantic Coast Fishes''. The Peterson Field Guide Series. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.

References

External links

Achetus lineatus
at fishbase.org * Munroe, T.A., 2002. Achiridae. American soles. p. 1925–1933. In K.E. Carpenter (ed.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae), sea turtles and marine mammals {{Taxonbar, from=Q1119113 Pleuronectiformes Fauna of the Southeastern United States Fish of the Western Atlantic Fish described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus