Speckled sanddab
Occasionally caught by recreational harvesters in Puget Sound.
Description and Range
Physical description
Speckled sanddab are olive brown or tan with black speckling on the eyed side and white to cream on the blind side. They can change color and patterns underwater, but are often heavily speckled with brown, black, or white. The ridge between the eyes is flat to convex. The pectoral fin, when projected forward, falls short of the lower eye. It has a straight lateral line and the caudal fin is rounded.
Speckled sanddab can grow up to 19.2 cm (8 in) in length and about 453 g (1 lb) in weight where females are larger and mature faster than males. Maximum age is 4 years.
The genius, Citharichthys, is a blend of the Latin word cithara (a lyre/harp-like instrument) and the Greek word ichthys (fish).
Geographic range
Speckled sanddab range from Prince William Sound in the northern Gulf of Alaska to Bahia Magdalena in southern Baja California. They have been found from the intertidal to depths of 366 m (1,200 ft), but are most common from very shallow waters to 60 m (197 ft). This small fish lives in a wide range of substrata, including open coast and in bays and estuaries. They live almost anywhere there is sand to lie on. Speckled sanddab feed in mid water, on the bottom and also appear to dig in the substrate for food. They primarily eat crustaceans, polychaetes, clams and small fish.