About Arnoglossus laterna (Walbaum, 1792)
The Mediterranean scaldfish, Arnoglossus laterna, is a small flatfish with a slender oval body. It has a small head with large eyes positioned on the left side of the head, and a moderately sized, oblique mouth. The dorsal fin originates in front of its upper eye; the first roughly twelve dorsal fin rays are partially separate from the fin membrane, but they are not elongated. The pelvic fin on the eyed side has a long base and is larger than the pelvic fin on the blind side. This species has 87–93 dorsal fin rays and 65–74 anal fin rays. Its scales are thin and fragile, and there are usually very few scales on its body. Its base color is pale brownish grey, with dark spots across its body and fins, and a dusky spot on the pelvic fins. The lateral line has 50–56 scales. The Mediterranean scaldfish is sexually dimorphic: males can be distinguished by the unusual elongated shape of certain fin rays. The maximum recorded total length of this species is 25 cm.
The Mediterranean scaldfish has a wide distribution. Its range extends from Trondheim in the north, southward along the eastern Atlantic Ocean to Angola, and also includes Madeira, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea.
This fish is a benthic species that lives on the upper continental shelf, on mixed or muddy substrates, at depths down to around 200 m. It feeds on small fishes and invertebrates. Its breeding season runs from May to August. Larvae metamorphose into adults when they reach between 16 mm and 23 mm in length. Off the coast of Brittany, individuals of this species may live for up to eight years.
