''Citharichthys gymnorhinus'', the anglefin whiff, is a species of
flatfish
A flatfish is a member of the ray-finned demersal fish order Pleuronectiformes, also called the Heterosomata, sometimes classified as a suborder of Perciformes. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the head, one or the other migratin ...
in the large-tooth flounder family
Paralichthyidae
Large-tooth flounders or sand flounders are a family, Paralichthyidae, of flounders. The family contains 14 genera with a total of about 110 species. They lie on the sea bed on their right side; both eyes are always on the left side of the head, ...
. It is a
demersal
The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a laye ...
marine fish that inhabits the mid to outer
continental shelf of the western
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...
, in both tropical and subtropical waters. It ranges from the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the archi ...
and
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, a ...
in the north to
Guyana and
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to ...
in the south, though larvae samples have also been collected off the coast of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
. It occurs at depths between , but is most commonly found in shallower waters.
Like the rest of the large-tooth flounders, it has both eyes on the left side of its head. It is one of the smallest members of its genus and one of the smallest flatfishes, growing to a maximum length of . As a result, it is of no commercial importance. It is similar in size and appearance to ''
Citharichthys cornutus'' and it shares the same habitat.
References
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2251366
Citharichthys
Fish of the Caribbean
Fish of Suriname
Fish of Guyana
Fish described in 1970