Southern flounder | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Pleuronectiformes |
Family: | Paralichthyidae |
Genus: | Paralichthys |
Species: | P. lethostigma |
Binomial name | |
Paralichthys lethostigma D. S. Jordan & C. H. Gilbert, 1884 |
The southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) is a species of large-tooth flounders native to the eastern and gulf coasts of the United States. It is a popular sports fish and is the largest and most commercially valuable flounder in the western North Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Its range is North Carolina to the Yucatan Peninsula. It is a "left-eyed flounder", meaning the left side is pigmented and is the "up side". The body color is brown with diffuse, unocellated spots and blotches.