Description
Glyptocephalus zachirus (Rex Sole)
(Other common names: Long-Finned Sole, Witch Sole, Pacific Sole)
Figure 50.25
DescriptionLength: 59 cm.
Mouth: small, terminal, narrow gape; asymmetrical; maxillary extend to below the anterior margin of the orbit; snout round; teeth on lower side of jaw.
Body: caudal peduncle short; caudal fin V-shaped being longest in the central region of the fin; pectoral fin on eyed side elongated; straight laternal line with no dorsal branch; well developed anal spine.
Color: light brown on eyed side; white to dusky on blind side; young are translucent.
Depth: up to 366 m; juveniles in shallower waters; adults deeper in the northern range.
Habitat: sandy-muddy substrate.
Season: spawning in spring.
Diet: crustaceans, molluscs (e.g., squid), and fish.
Predators: not determined.
Distribution: Mexico to the Bering Sea.
Scale DescriptionScale Type: uniformly cycloid over the body.
Relative Scale Size: small to moderate.
Position of Scales on Body: uniform over the body; imbricated (Hart, 1973).
Overall Scale Shape: circular to oval. In the larger scales the lateral fields are longer than anterior/posterior is wide giving it an elongated appearance; in G, I, and J the posterior field is V-shaped; regenerated scales are less defined in shape.
Focus and Circuli: the focus is not central between the fields, is approximately one-third to one-fourth of the total scale length from the edge of the posterior field. In small scales the circuli are both continuous and discontinuous (both between and within a field), but in larger, well-developed scales, the circuli are generally continuous (but tend to be somewhat discontinous in the leading edges of the fields). In smaller scales, the circuli do not go into the posterior field, but rather appear as protruberances. The circuli are tightly compacted.
Radii: numbers are variable and not diagnostic. Generally, radii are in the anterior field only (radii not present in all fields; Batts, 1964). The outer edge of the anterior field is convex and smooth. Intermarkings absent (Batts, 1964).
