Ocellated Turbot, Pleuronichthys ocellatus

Ocellated Turbot, Pleuronichthys ocellatus. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of Bahía Kino, Sonora, March 2015. Length: 13 cm (5.1 inches). Photographs courtesy of Maria Johnson, Prescott College Kino Bay Center, Kino Bay, Sonora.

Ocellated Turbot, Pleuronichthys ocellatus. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of Bahía Kino, Sonora, March 2015. Length: 13 cm (5.1 inches). Photograph courtesy of Maria Johnson, Prescott College Kino Bay Center, Kino Bay, Sonora.

The Ocellated Turbot, Pleuronichthys ocellatus, is a member of the Righteye Flounder or Pleuronectidae Family, and known in Mexico as platija ocelada. Globally, there are eight species in the genus Pleuronichthys, of which five are found in Mexican waters, all in the Pacific Ocean.

The Ocellated Turbot has an elongated oval fusiform highly compressed body that is widest in the middle and has a body depth is 46 to 50% of standard length. They are pale brown overall and covered with irregular white spots. They have one large black ocellated spot with a white ring located mid-back and a pair of 2 large blotches close to the margin of their disc and toward the rear of their anal and dorsal fins. Their blind side is off-white. Their head has relatively large eyes on the right side with the top eye preceding the lower eye. Their mouth is small and asymmetrical. Their anal fin has 44 to 49 rays; their caudal fin is small and rounded with a wide base; their dorsal fin has 61 to 72 rays; their pectoral fin on the eye-side has nine rays; and, their pelvic fins are symmetrical and found on both sides of the body. They have 10 to 14 gill rakers and a straight lateral line that originates above their eyes.

The Ocellated Turbot is a demersal species that is found over and within sandy and muddy bottoms at depths up to 140 m (460 feet). They reach a maximum of 24.0 cm (9.4 inches) in length. They are opportunistic well-camouflaged ambush predators that lie in wait half-submerged on the ocean floor consuming crustaceans and small fish. The Ocellated Turbot  is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Ocellated Turbot is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but has a limited distribution being found from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, southward along the southwest coast of Baja and in the northern two-thirds of the Sea of Cortez.

The Ocellated Turbot can be confused with the C-O Sole, Pleuronichthys coenosus (no ocellus spots), the Diamond Turbot, Pleuronichthys guttulatus (diamond shaped, body depth 61 to 65%, no ocellus spots, small blue spots covering body), the Hornyhead Turbot, Pleuronichthys verticalis (body depth 51 to 55%, no ocellus spots, mottled dark blotches covering body), and the Spotted Turbot, Pleuronichthys ritteri (body depth 49 to 53%; three dark spots without a significant white boarder).

From a conservation perspective the Ocellated Turbot is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are caught primarily as a by-catch of deep water trawlers. They are very difficult to catch via hook and line due to their small mouths. They are small in stature and of limited interest to most.