southern flounder
Paralichthys lethostigma Jordan & Gilbert, 1884
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Southern flounder from the Gulf of Mexico
SEFSC Pascagoula Laboratory; Collection of Brandi Noble, NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Paralichthys lethostigma, the southern flounder, is a species of large-tooth flounder native to the East Coast of the United States and the northern Gulf of Mexico. It is a popular sport fish and is the largest and most commercially valuable flounder in the western North Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. It is a "left-eyed flounder", meaning the left side is pigmented and is the "up side".
Wikipedia contributors, Paralichthys lethostigma; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:48:11.540525+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Paralichthys lethostigma Jordan & Gilbert, 1884
- Name authority
- Jordan & Gilbert, 1884
- Common name
- southern flounder
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Pleuronectiformes
- Family
- Paralichthyidae
- Genus
- Paralichthys
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderPleuronectiformes
- suborderPleuronectoidei
- familyParalichthyidae Regan, 1910
- genusParalichthys Girard, 1858
- speciesParalichthys lethostigma Jordan & Gilbert, 1884
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Paralichthys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Paralichthys adspersus (Steindachner, 1867) | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gulf flounderParalichthys albigutta Jordan & Gilbert, 1882 | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Paralichthys brasiliensis (Ranzani, 1842) | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Paralichthys delfini Pequeño & Plaza, 1987 | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| northern flukeParalichthys dentatus (Linnaeus, 1766) | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Paralichthys isosceles Jordan, 1891 | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Paralichthys microps (Günther, 1881) | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Paralichthys patagonicus Jordan, 1889 | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| broad flounderParalichthys squamilentus Jordan & Gilbert, 1882 | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Paralichthys triocellatus Miranda Ribeiro, 1903 | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Paralichthys tropicus Ginsburg, 1933 | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| dappled flounderParalichthys woolmani Jordan & Williams, 1897 | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Paralichthys letostigma Jordan & Gilbert, 1884 Jordan & Gilbert, 1884 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Jordan, D. S., & Meek, S. E. (1884). List of fishes observed in the Saint John’s River at Jacksonville, Florida. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, v. 7 (no. 427): 235–237. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00963801.7-427.235 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4CYVM. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.