Flatfish
19th c. engraving depicting several types of flatfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Pleuronectiformes
Families
Suborder Psettodoidei     Psettodidae Suborder Pleuronectoidei     Citharidae     Scophthalmidae (turbots)     Bothidae (lefteye flounders)     Pleuronectidae (righteye flounders)     Paralichthyidae (large-tooth flounders)     Achiropsettidae (southern flounders)     Samaridae Suborder Soleoidei     Soleidae (soles)     Achiridae (American soles)     Cynoglossidae (tonguefishes) A 19th century wood engraving depicting various species of bony flatfish. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Animalia redirects here. ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Orders See text The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. ... Genera Lepidorhombus Phrynorhombus Psetta Scophthalmus Zeugopterus Turbots or windowpanes (family Scophthalmidae) are a group of fish found in marine or brackish waters. ... Genera Arnoglossus Asterorhombus Bothus Chascanopsetta Crossorhombus Engyophrys Engyprosopon Grammatobothus Japonolaeops Kamoharaia Laeops Lophonectes Monolene Neolaeops Parabothus Perissias Psettina Taeniopsetta Tosarhombus Trichopsetta See text for species. ... Winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus A flounder blending into its environment Are not :( While flounders have one eye on each side of the head, Flukes are not born with two eyes on one side. ... Genera Acanthopsetta Ammotretis Atheresthes Azygopus Clidoderma Colistium Cleisthenes Clidoderma Colisteum Dexistes Embassichthys Eopsetta Errex Glyptocephalus - fluke Hippoglossoides Hippoglossus - halibut Hypsopsetta Isopsetta Lepidopsetta Limanda - mud dabs Liopsetta - eelback flounder Lyopsetta Marleyella Microstomus - smear dab Nematops Oncopterus Paralichthodes Parophrys Pelotretis Peltorhamphus Platichthys - starry flounder Pleuronectes - northern flounder, plaice Pleuronichthys Poecilopsetta Psammodiscus Psettichthys... Winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus A flounder blending into its environment Are not :( While flounders have one eye on each side of the head, Flukes are not born with two eyes on one side. ... Genera Ancylopsetta Cephalopsetta Citharichthys Cyclopsetta Etropus Gastropsetta Hippoglossina Paralichthys Pseudorhombus Syacium Tarphops Tephrinectes Thysanopsetta Xystreurys See text for species. ... The southern (or armless) flounders are a small family of flounders found in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters. ... Genera (22 genera) The soles are a family (Soleidae) of flatfishes found in both oceans and freshwater, feeding on small crustaceans and other invertebrates. ... Look up Sole in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Genera Many; see text The American soles are a family (Achiridae) of flatfish occurring in both freshwater and marine environments of the Americas. ... Genera Cynoglossus Paraplagusia Symphurus See text for species. ...

The flatfish are an order (Pleuronectiformes) of ray-finned fish, also called the Heterosomata, sometimes classified as a suborder of Perciformes. The name means "side-swimmers" in Greek. In many species both eyes lie on one side of the head, one or the other migrating through and around the head during development. Some species face their "left" side upward, some face their "right" side upward, and others face either side upward. The other distinguishing features of the order are the presence of protrusible eyes, another adaptation to living on the sea-bed (benthos), and the extension of the dorsal fin onto the head. Scientific classification or biological classification refers to how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Orders See text The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. ... Families many, see text The Perciformes, also called the Percomorphi or Acanthopteri, include about 40% of all fish and are the largest order of vertebrates. ...

Many important food fish are in this order, including the flounders, soles, turbot, plaice, and halibut. There are more than 400 species of this order. Some flatfish can camouflage themselves on the ocean floor. Seafood in Brussels, Belgium Seafood is any sea animal that is served as food or is suitable for eating. ... Winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus A flounder blending into its environment Are not :( While flounders have one eye on each side of the head, Flukes are not born with two eyes on one side. ... The soles are flatfishes of various families. ... Genera Lepidorhombus Phrynorhombus Psetta Scophthalmus Zeugopterus Turbots or windowpanes (family Scophthalmidae) are a group of fish found in marine or brackish waters. ... Binomial name Pleuronectes platessa Plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) are an abundant and commercially important flatfish occurring on the sandy bottoms of the European shelf. ... Fiorello LaGuardia with a 300-pound halibut at the Fulton Fish Market. ...

Flatfish have been cited as dramatic examples of evolutionary adaptation. For example, Richard Dawkins in The Blind Watchmaker, explains the flatfish's evolutionary history as: While on board HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin collected numerous specimens, many new to science, which supported his later theory of evolution by natural selection. ... Clinton Richard Dawkins (born March 26, 1941) is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and popular science writer who holds the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. ... Cover illustration by the zoologist Desmond Morris The Blind Watchmaker is a 1986 book by Richard Dawkins in which he presents an explanation of, and argument for, the theory of evolution by means of natural selection. ...

... bony fish as a rule have a marked tendency to be flattened in a vertical direction.... It was natural, therefore, that when the ancestors of [flatfish] took to the sea bottom, they should have lain on one side.... But this raised the problem that one eye was always looking down into the sand and was effectively useless. In evolution this problem was solved by the lower eye 'moving' round to the upper side.

The development of flatfish is thus considered to recapitulate their evolutionary history. The theory of recapitulation, also called the biogenetic law or ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny, is a theory in biology which attempts to explain apparent similarities between humans and other animals. ...

The asymmetric geometry of flatfish has been likened to the cubist paintings of Pablo Picasso, and is often perceived as being "imperfect", "grotesque", "strange", etc. It is likely that the asymmetry contributes to their survival by helping to disguise them on the ocean floor. It has been suggested that Analytic cubism, Synthetic cubism be merged into this article or section. ... Pablo Ruiz Picasso (October 25, 1881 – April 8, 1973) was a Spanish painter and sculptor. ...

See also

• Angling
• Brill (fish), a species of flatfish in the turbot family native to the North Atlantic
• California halibut
• Halibut
• Sport fishing