Laeops Günther, 1880

Amaoka, Kunio & Ho, Hsuan-Ching, 2019, The lefteye flounder family Bothidae (Order Pleuronectiformes) of Taiwan, Zootaxa 4702 (1), pp. 155-215 : 194

Genus Laeops Günther, 1880

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Laeops Günther, 1880:29 . Type species: Laeops parviceps Günther, 1880 .

Diagnostic features. Body elongate, elliptical, strongly compressed. Tip of isthmus below posterior margin of lower eye or slightly beyond. No sexual dimorphism of dorsal profile of head, interorbital width, head spines and pectoral fin. Caudal peduncle extremely narrow, its depth slightly less than half of HL. Interorbital space narrow. No rostral, orbital and mandibular spines in both sexes.

Mouth very small, asymmetrical, twisted to blind side; maxilla extending slightly beyond anterior margin of lower eye. Teeth present only on bind side of both jaws, small, uniserial or forming narrow band. Gill rakers slender and smooth. Scales very small, deciduous, cycloids on both sides. Lateral line on ocular side with small curved section above pectoral fin; lateral line absent on blind side.

Dorsal- and anal- fin rays simple and unbranched. Anterior two rays of dorsal fin separated from remainder rays, or anterior three rays elongate. Pectoral fin on ocular side not elongate. Pelvic fin on ocular side starting at tip of isthmus, first ray on blind side opposite to fourth fin ray on ocular side. Vent on blind side, just before origin of anal fin, and urogenital pore on ocular side, opposite to vent. Caudal skeleton with four plates, including parhypural and three hypurals, and lacking deep clefts.

Remarks. Laeops is closely related to Japonolaeops as evidenced by the elongate body, small mouth, caudal skeleton without deep clefts, and no sexual dimorphism. It differs from Japonolaeops in having teeth only on the blind side and in the anterior two dorsal fin rays not continuous with the following rays, or rarely the anterior three rays elongate.