Banded-fin flounder

The banded-fin flounder or spotted flounder, Azygopus pinnifasciatus, is a righteye flounder, the only species in the genus Azygopus, found around the Indo-West Pacific Oceans, including southern Australia and New Zealand, on the continental slope at depths of between 120 and 900 m. Their length is up to 20 cm. The banded-fin flounder is a righteye flounder meaning it has both eyes on the right side of the head and lies on its left side. It has the typical flattened oval shape of the flounder with the dorsal and anal fins forming a fringe around most of the body, and a pointed snout.

The colouring is distinctive, being pale brown marked with conspicuous small dark spots, and a dark spot on each side of the end of the caudal fin.

References

• Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8