''Citharichthys xanthostigma'', the longfin sanddab, 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 native to the eastern

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

, in subtropical waters ranging from

Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica ...

, California in the north, to Costa Rica in the south. 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, and can be found on the soft bottoms of coastal waters at depths between . Like the rest of the large-tooth flounders, it has both eyes on the left side of its head. It grows to a maximum length of . It is brown-colored, with white and orange speckles. ''Citharichthys xanthostigma'' is a predator, feeding on

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

worms and crustaceans. It shares its habitat with the larger

Pacific sanddab The Pacific sanddab (''Citharichthys sordidus'') is a species of flatfish. It is by far the most common sanddab, and it shares its habitat with the longfin sanddab (''C. xanthostigma'') and the speckled sanddab (''C. stigmaeus''). It is a medium- ...

(''C. sordidus''), and is a game fish of minor commercial importance.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5098316 Citharichthys Fish of the Pacific Ocean Fish described in 1890