Relevant synonyms Dicologlossa hexophthalma Dicologoglossa hexophthalma Misidentification None Meristic formula D, 61-80; A, 52-64; P, 5-8/4-8; LL, 85-92  photo : Jean-Pierre Quignard

SHORT DESCRIPTION Body oval. Caudal fin separated from dorsal and anal. Both eyes on right side, upper eye equal or less than its own horizontal diameter from dorsal profile and larger than interorbital length. Anterior nostril on blind side not enlarged. Anterior nostril on eyed side not reaching front of the lower eye. color : brownish with three large dark cross-bands, each ending with one ocellus along the dorsal and anal fins. On the anterior part of the body, two narrow bands and one on the head without ocellus. size : common 10-18 cm (max. 20 cm). DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Six ocelli on the body, three along the base of the dorsal fin and three along the base of the anal fin, distinguishing this species from all other Mediterranean soleidae. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY No data. habitat : benthic. Sandy or muddy substrate in shallow waters (150 m depth in the Atlantic ocean).

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Catalan Sea and Gulf of Lions, 1984. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : Eastern Atlantic from Portugal to Angola. Mediterranean : recorded first in Catalan Sea and Gulf of Lions : three specimens captured by trawlers, 50-100 m depth (Matallanas, 1984c). Successively recorded from the Catalan Sea to Toulon, Provence, France (Quignard and Tomasini, 2000). Gulf of Taranto (Southern Italy). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Very rare. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via Gibraltar. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS No commercial value.

KEY REFERENCES Matallanas J., 1984b. A new species for the Mediterranean and Spanish ichthyofauna: Dicologlossa hexophtalma (Bennett, 1831) (Pisces, Soleidae) from Catalan waters. Cybium, 8: 95-96. Quignard J.P. and Tomasini J.A., 2000. Mediterranean Fish Biodiversity. Biologia Marina Mediterranea, 7(3): 1-66. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: January 2009 ©ciesm 2002