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Saltwater IDs

Started by Guest_FishyJackson_* , Dec 05 2012 05:56 PM

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26 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_FishyJackson_*

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Posted 05 December 2012 - 05:56 PM

Hey guys, caught a few random fish in Sarasota Florida, need your expertise.

The little Flounder was small, like 6 or 8 inches, caught a few miles out in the Gulf in about 40 ft of water. The Flounders I've always caught in Sarasota have been Gulf Flounder, but this one doesnt have the 3 distinct Oceli. Anyone know what kind of Flounder this is?

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#2 Guest_FishyJackson_*

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Posted 05 December 2012 - 05:57 PM

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#3 Guest_FishyJackson_*

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Posted 05 December 2012 - 06:00 PM

This Puffer was caught in same range and depth as the Flounder, anyone know what kind this is? We caught a bunch of them at once

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Edited by FishyJackson, 05 December 2012 - 06:01 PM.

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#4 Guest_FishyJackson_*

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Posted 05 December 2012 - 06:03 PM

Also caught a wierd little inch and half long fish on a Micro hook. I noticed a lot of them hiding on edge of dock in the oysters. Looks like a Blenny of some kind maybe, anyone recognize this?

All of these fish were caught in Sarasota, Fl. I;m going to post the little wierd fish soon when I get the picture

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#5 Guest_FishyJackson_*

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Posted 05 December 2012 - 06:27 PM

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#6 Guest_FishyJackson_*

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Posted 05 December 2012 - 06:28 PM

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#7 Guest_FishyJackson_*

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Posted 05 December 2012 - 06:29 PM

Also caught this at one of the reefs, same kind of spot as the Puffer and Flounder, looks like in Croaker family but never this seen one like this

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#8 Guest_FishyJackson_*

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Posted 05 December 2012 - 06:30 PM

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#9 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 05 December 2012 - 06:47 PM

The last one reminds me of the picture of an adult cubbyu Pareques umbrosus from post #7 of http://forum.nanfa.o...801#entry102801

Edited by EricaWieser, 05 December 2012 - 06:48 PM.

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#10 Guest_FishyJackson_*

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Posted 05 December 2012 - 09:31 PM

The last one reminds me of the picture of an adult cubbyu Pareques umbrosus from post #7 of http://forum.nanfa.o...801#entry102801

Thanks Erica, very helpful link, definately an adult Cubbyu after seeing the pic in that thread and others. That link also solved the Puffer ID, a Bandtail Puffer. I had never heard of either of those fish.

So that leaves the little micro fish and Flounder as the only mysteries remaining.

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#11 Guest_fritz_*

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Posted 06 December 2012 - 04:49 PM

Bandtail puffer Sphoeroides spegleri is correct
Erica is correct on cubbyu
flounder may be dusky Syacium papillosum
I work on the little guy tomorrow.

good to see saltwater fish

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#12 Guest_fritz_*

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Posted 06 December 2012 - 04:52 PM

little guy may be a frillfin goby Bathyogobius soporator - hard to tell from photo

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#13 Guest_FishyJackson_*

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Posted 06 December 2012 - 09:27 PM

Fritz- I looked up Frillfin Goby and I think you nailed it, i couldnt get a better picture unfortunately but that looks real likely, do you know if Frillfin is one of the most common Gobies in the Gulf? There seemed to be boatloads of them hiding in the oysters.

As for the Flounder I dont think its a Dusky, I'm leaning to either Shoal Flouder or Channel Flounder, Shoal Flounder made the most sense until I found a pic of a Channel Flounder that was near identical to my Flounder.. Its hard to find any info on these Flounders and Im not sure what Channel Flounder range is but they dont seem very common, might be rare catch. Check out this link and let me know what u think...Much appreciated. http://www.fishbase....pecies&TotRec=7

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#14 Guest_FishyJackson_*

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Posted 06 December 2012 - 09:27 PM

The light irregular circular markings all over the body are what makes me think its a Channel Flounder (syacium micrurum)...unless the Shoal or Dusky have these markings too and I just cant tell from the limited images of these fish.

Edited by FishyJackson, 06 December 2012 - 09:34 PM.

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#15 Guest_fritz_*

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Posted 08 December 2012 - 11:24 AM

Hi
Frillfin is a common goby.

According to FAO Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Atlantic key, male papillosum separate out from micrurum (channel) by having an interorbital width greater than 75% of lower eye diameter (versus less than 75%). My rough measurement is that these two measurements are roughly 1:1 or 100%. Thus papillosum which is most common of the three. It also has dusky spots/blotches. Shoal flounder/gunteri is not as elongate as channel or dusky. body depth usually 48% of standard length versus 45% or less. I roughly measured about 40% on your fish

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#16 Guest_FishyJackson_*

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Posted 09 December 2012 - 12:09 PM

Really appreciate you looking in depth into it Fritz, hard to argue. This pic of a Dusky may just not be a good pic but it looks less like than mine than the Channel does, and eyes look further apart.

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Edited by FishyJackson, 09 December 2012 - 12:12 PM.

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#17 Guest_fritz_*

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Posted 09 December 2012 - 09:00 PM

You are probably right about it not being a dusky. I uncovered a 1983 photo of a dusky I photographed off the East Coast and it appears similar to the one above with wide spaced eyes and very little markings. I'll see what expert I can share your photos with. Stay tuned.

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#18 Guest_mzokan_*

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Posted 10 December 2012 - 10:32 AM

The eye separation in Syacium is a sex/age thing. Adult males have their eyes further apart relative to females and juveniles. So, if your specimen is not an adult male, I would not use eye separation in ID. I'm also not bothered by the bland coloration of the above dusky compared to your specimen. Live duskies I've seen have the rosette patterns just like in your specimen, but dead/dying fish lose this coloration rapidly like in the dusky photo you posted. What is more interesting to me are the dark blotches along the midline -- one just behind the pectoral fin and a few more on the caudal peduncle and caudal fin itself. These spots are more suggestive of S. gunteri, but as Fritz pointed out, the body proportions are more like that of S. papillosum. However, I've turned up a few photos that do show S. papillosum with these same blotches (http://www.fishwisep...illosum'&Flt=20) and combined with the body proportions suggests to me it is papillosum. Also, S. micrurum is very rare or absent entirely from the Gulf, and S. gunteri is found mainly in the western Gulf. They also segregate by substrate type: papillosum on sandy-shelly bottoms and gunteri on muddy bottoms. I've also caught S. papillosum around reefs, and I assume you were fishing around a reef based on the other species you caught. So, based on range, habitat, and body shape, I think you have Syacium papillosum.

Note that I am not a flatfish expert, so if Fritz gets word from Tom Monroe or someone similar, that would be the opinion to go with.

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#19 Guest_FishyJackson_*

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Posted 10 December 2012 - 12:19 PM

Real interesting stuff, hopefully the expert can end the debate. S Micrurum being absent from the Gulf should rule that out then...Based on that picture I was sure it was a Channel Flounder but it did seem like they might not range there...So hard to find info on them but since it turns out they are mostly absent from the Gulf that has to rule it out. So I guess it comes down to Dusky vs. Shoal Flounder, with Dusky leading the way big time now. That link you posted shows those same flowery markings. Certainly lookin like a Dusky at this point. And you're right, I did catch this flounder around a reef mixed in with the other little creatures we caught.