Pacific Leopard Flounder, Bothus leopardinus

Pacific Leopard Flounder, Bothus leopardinus. Fish caught from the jetty at Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, March 2012. Length: 8 cm (3.1 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).

Pacific Leopard Flounder, Bothus leopardinus. Fist provided by the commercial bait salesmen of Puerto Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, April 2006. Length: 10 cm (3.9 inches).

The Pacific Leopard Flounder, Bothus leopardinus, is a member of the Lefteye Flounder or Bothidae Family, and is known in Mexico as lenguado leopardo del Pacifico. Globally, there are eighteen species in the genus Bothus, of which six are found in Mexican waters, four in the Atlantic and two in the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific Leopard Flounders has a deep oval body with a depth of 60 to 64% of standard length. They vary in color from pale to dark brown and are covered with light colored star-shaped blotches some of which have dark centers and are grouped in circles. They also have a black blotch inside their mouth that is visible dorsally below their lower eye. They have a small mouth with a pointed snout and a pair of fairly large eyes on their left side that are normally widely separated with the lower eye well in front of the upper eye (pictured below) that is equipped with small teeth. Their anal fin has 64 to 70 rays; their dorsal fin originates well before their top eye and has 86 to 92 rays; their eyed-side pectoral fin is larger than their blind-side pectoral fin; and their eyed-side pelvic fin originates under their lower eye and has a long base. They have 17 to 18 short stubby gill rakers. Their lateral line is prominent and strongly arched over the pectoral fins and their body is covered with small scales.

The Pacific Leopard Flounder is found over and within soft sandy bottoms at depths up to 122 m (400 feet) and are uniquely colored to blend with the substratum. They reach a maximum length of 20.0 cm (7.9 inches). They feed on small fish and crustaceans. The Pacific Leopard Flounder is a relatively small species that 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 Pacific Leopard Flounder is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean with the exception that they are absent from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, northward along the central and northwest coasts of Baja and in the northern third of the Sea of Cortez.

The Pacific Leopard Flounder is easy to identify due to its body shape and eye alignment and cannot be confused with any other species.

From a conservation perspective the Pacific Leopard Flounder is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are small in stature, seldom seen by humans, and are of limited interest to most. They are a common by-catch of deep water shrimp trawlers.