Skip to content

DiscoverSpeciesFish

Slime flounder

Microstomus achne

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Data deficient
  • Usual depth67–343 m
  • Water temperature4–22 °C
  • Best monthsJune
  • How commonRare
All species

Photo credit: (c) Баранчук-Червонный Лев, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

The slime flounder is a kind of flatfish from the family Pleuronectidae. It is a demersal fish that lives on sand and mud bottoms at depths of between 15 and 800 metres, though it is most commonly found between 20 and 610 metres. Its native habitat is the temperate waters of the northwest Pacific, from the East China Sea to the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan, as far as Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. It reaches up to 60 centimetres (24 in) in length, and can weigh up to 1.76 kilograms (3.9 lb).

Text from the Wikipedia article “Slime flounder”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

  • January: 0 records
  • February: 0 records
  • March: 0 records
  • April: 2 records
  • May: 0 records
  • June: 4 records
  • July: 0 records
  • August: 0 records
  • September: 1 records
  • October: 2 records
  • November: 2 records
  • December: 1 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 67–343 m · Deepest record: 342.5 m

  • 60–70 m: 1 records
  • 70–80 m: 1 records
  • 80–90 m: 0 records
  • 90–100 m: 0 records
  • 100–110 m: 0 records
  • 110–120 m: 0 records
  • 120–130 m: 1 records
  • 130–140 m: 0 records
  • 140–150 m: 0 records
  • 150–160 m: 3 records
  • 160–170 m: 1 records
  • 170+ m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 4–22 °C

  • 4–6 °C: 63 records
  • 6–8 °C: 1 records
  • 8–10 °C: 0 records
  • 10–12 °C: 0 records
  • 12–14 °C: 0 records
  • 14–16 °C: 6 records
  • 16–18 °C: 1 records
  • 18–20 °C: 0 records
  • 20–22 °C: 0 records
  • 22–24 °C: 1 records

Names and classification

English
Slime flounder, babagarei
Names in 3 more languages
Japanese
Baba-garei, Babagarei, ババガレイ
Korean
찰가자미
Simplified Chinese
亞洲油鰈

Other scientific names: Veraequa achne

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

  • Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
  • Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
  • Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
  • 88 open-data records from 1906 to 2012.
  • Species data updated November 4, 2026.

Log what you see on your next dive

The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.

Join the waitlist

DiveHive uses necessary cookies to work. With your permission we also use analytics to see which pages help. Analytics is off until you say yes, and we never record what you type.

  • NecessaryAlways on: your choice, security.Always on
  • AnalyticsOff unless you accept.Off
Privacy policy