Pleuronectiformes
Sign in to saveFlatfish are a group of ray-finned fish belonging to the suborder Pleuronectoidei and historically the order Pleuronectiformes (though this is now disputed). Their collective common name is due to their habit of lying on one side of their laterally-compressed body (flattened side-to-side) upon the seafloor; in this position, both eyes lie on the side of the head facing upwards, while the other side of the head and body (the "blind side") lies on the substrate. This loss of symmetry, a unique adaptation in vertebrates, stems from one eye "migrating" towards the other during the juvenile's metam
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Pleuronectiformes is a group of ray-finned fish commonly known as flatfish, characterized by their flattened bodies and both eyes positioned on the same side of their head as they rest on the seafloor. This unusual adaptation, where one eye migrates during development, represents a unique loss of body symmetry found nowhere else in vertebrates and allows these fish to blend in with their surroundings while hunting prey on the ocean bottom.
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17 sectionsContents
- Common names
- Distribution
- Description
- Development
- Hybrids
- Evolution
- Taxonomy
- Classification
- Fossil taxa
- Phylogeny
- Timeline of genera
- Relation to humans
- Fishing and aquaculture
- As food
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Flatfish are a group of ray-finned fish belonging to the suborder Pleuronectoidei and historically the order Pleuronectiformes (though this is now disputed). Their collective common name is due to their habit of lying on one side of their laterally-compressed body (flattened side-to-side) upon the seafloor; in this position, both eyes lie on the side of the head facing upwards, while the other side of the head and body (the "blind side") lies on the substrate. This loss of symmetry, a unique adaptation in vertebrates, stems from one eye "migrating" towards the other during the juvenile's metamorphosis; due to variation, some species tend to face their left side upward, some their right side, and others face either side upward. Pleuronectidae lie on their left side, with eyes on the right. Paralichthyidae lie on their right side, with eyes on the left. The "primitive" genus Psettodes may develop into "right-facing" or "left-facing" individuals.
They are one of the most speciose groups of demersal fish. Their cryptic coloration and habits, a form of camouflage, conceals them from potential predators.