black backs
Pseudopleuronectes americanus (Walbaum, 1792)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus), also known as the black back, is a right-eyed ("dextral") flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. It is native to coastal waters of the western north Atlantic coast, from Labrador, Canada to Georgia, United States, although it is less common south of Delaware Bay. It is the most common near-shore (shallow-water) flounder in the waters from Newfoundland down through Massachusetts Bay, reaching a maximum size around 61 cm in length and 2.25 kg in weight. The species grows larger on Georges Bank, where they can reach a length of 70 cm and weight of 3.6 kg. Although winter flounder historically supported large commercial and recreational fisheries, biomass and landings have decreased since the 1980s.
Wikipedia contributors, Winter flounder; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:53:58.037141+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pseudopleuronectes americanus (Walbaum, 1792)
- Name authority
- (Walbaum, 1792)
- Common name
- black backs
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Pleuronectiformes
- Family
- Pleuronectidae
- Genus
- Pseudopleuronectes
- 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
- familyPleuronectidae Rafinesque, 1815
- subfamilyPleuronectinae Rafinesque, 1815
- genusPseudopleuronectes Bleeker, 1862
- speciesPseudopleuronectes americanus (Walbaum, 1792)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Pseudopleuronectes. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Brown solePseudopleuronectes herzensteini (Jordan & Snyder, 1901) | PleuronectidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Black plaicePseudopleuronectes obscurus (Herzenstein, 1890) | PleuronectidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Marbled flounderPseudopleuronectes yokohamae (Günther, 1877) | PleuronectidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cresthead flounderPseudopleuronectes schrenki (Schmidt, 1904) | PleuronectidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Pleuronectes planus Mitchill, 1814 Mitchill, 1814 | synonym |
| Pleuronectes americanus Walbaum, 1792 Walbaum, 1792 | synonym |
| Platessa pusilla DeKay, 1842 DeKay, 1842 | synonym |
| Pseudopleuronectes dignabilis Kendall, 1912 Kendall, 1912 | 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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=158885 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:4P882. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.