SAMARISCUS TRIOCELLATUS - (WOODS, 1960)
Picture courtesy of: Alain Daoulas
Actinopterygii (Gigaclass) > Actinopteri (Class) > Teleostei (Subclass) > Carangiformes (Order) > Pleuronectoidei (Suborder) > Samaridae (Family) > Samariscus (Genus)
Sole à trois ocelles, Threespot righteye flounder, Threespot flounder, Three-spot dwarf flounder, Driekol-botvis, Dreipunkt-flunder, Tsukinowagarei, ジャノメツキノワガレイ, 三斑沙鰈, 扁鱼,
Description
Dorsal soft rays (total): 62-70; Anal soft rays: 47-56; Pectoral fin rays: 4-5; Lateral line scales: 71-76; Abdominal vertebrae: 9; Caudal vertebrae: 31-32; Depth of body: 2.4-3.1 in SL; Body depth: 2.4-3.1 in SL; Head long: 3.6-4.3 in SL. Total gill rakers: 6-8, rudimentary. Well developed pectoral fin on eyed side with 5 rays, single rudimentary ray on blind side. Body oblong, elliptical, strongly compressed. Origin of dorsal fin in front of eye. Eyes on right side. Margin of preopercle distinct. No spine in all fins; Dorsal and anal fins separated from caudal fin. Gill rakers rudimentary. Max. length: 9.0 cm SL. Depth range: 3 - 35 m.
Color
Eyed side brown, mottled with irregular dark and pale markings; 2-3 dark-edged ocelli along lateral line (first near tip of pectoral fin, and last at caudal-fin base); Pectoral fin blackish distally; Dorsal and anal fins with minute black spots, and caudal fin with small dark spots.
Etymology
Samariscus: diminutive of Samaris = Samaris-like. Etymology not explained nor evident; Possibly coined by naturalist John Reeves (1774-1856), who discovered Samariscus cristatus while working as a tea inspector in China.
triocellatus: from Latin, tri = three + from Latin, ocellatus = having small eyes or an eyelike marking in the form of a spot or ring of colour, as on the wing of a butterfly or the tail of a peacock. Referring to three ocelli just below lateral line on eyed side.
Original description: Samariscus triocellatus Woods, 1960 - Type locality: coral head in eastern end of lagoon, Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, western Pacific, depth: 20-25 feet.
Distribution
Indo-West Pacific: East Africa, South Africa, Madagascar and Réunion (Mascarenes) east to Hawaiian Islands and Pitcairn Group, north to southern Japan, south to Western Australia, Queensland (Australia), New Caledonia, and Tonga.
Biology
Inhabits coral heads of lagoon and seaward reefs. Found in rubble slopes in sand or fine-rubble patches. Common in shallow caves or under ledges and can lie flat against vertical rock surfaces. Comes out at dusk and hunts on low reef. It has low profile and crawls along like a flatworm, but activity waves its black pectoral fin as it goes. Feeds on small benthic inverterbrates and fishes. Of no interest to fisheries.
Last update: 1, April 2023
Sole à trois ocelles, Threespot righteye flounder, Threespot flounder, Three-spot dwarf flounder, Driekol-botvis, Dreipunkt-flunder, Tsukinowagarei, ジャノメツキノワガレイ, 三斑沙鰈, 扁鱼,
Description
Dorsal soft rays (total): 62-70; Anal soft rays: 47-56; Pectoral fin rays: 4-5; Lateral line scales: 71-76; Abdominal vertebrae: 9; Caudal vertebrae: 31-32; Depth of body: 2.4-3.1 in SL; Body depth: 2.4-3.1 in SL; Head long: 3.6-4.3 in SL. Total gill rakers: 6-8, rudimentary. Well developed pectoral fin on eyed side with 5 rays, single rudimentary ray on blind side. Body oblong, elliptical, strongly compressed. Origin of dorsal fin in front of eye. Eyes on right side. Margin of preopercle distinct. No spine in all fins; Dorsal and anal fins separated from caudal fin. Gill rakers rudimentary. Max. length: 9.0 cm SL. Depth range: 3 - 35 m.
Color
Eyed side brown, mottled with irregular dark and pale markings; 2-3 dark-edged ocelli along lateral line (first near tip of pectoral fin, and last at caudal-fin base); Pectoral fin blackish distally; Dorsal and anal fins with minute black spots, and caudal fin with small dark spots.
Etymology
Samariscus: diminutive of Samaris = Samaris-like. Etymology not explained nor evident; Possibly coined by naturalist John Reeves (1774-1856), who discovered Samariscus cristatus while working as a tea inspector in China.
triocellatus: from Latin, tri = three + from Latin, ocellatus = having small eyes or an eyelike marking in the form of a spot or ring of colour, as on the wing of a butterfly or the tail of a peacock. Referring to three ocelli just below lateral line on eyed side.
Original description: Samariscus triocellatus Woods, 1960 - Type locality: coral head in eastern end of lagoon, Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, western Pacific, depth: 20-25 feet.
Distribution
Indo-West Pacific: East Africa, South Africa, Madagascar and Réunion (Mascarenes) east to Hawaiian Islands and Pitcairn Group, north to southern Japan, south to Western Australia, Queensland (Australia), New Caledonia, and Tonga.
Biology
Inhabits coral heads of lagoon and seaward reefs. Found in rubble slopes in sand or fine-rubble patches. Common in shallow caves or under ledges and can lie flat against vertical rock surfaces. Comes out at dusk and hunts on low reef. It has low profile and crawls along like a flatworm, but activity waves its black pectoral fin as it goes. Feeds on small benthic inverterbrates and fishes. Of no interest to fisheries.
Last update: 1, April 2023