Flatfish
Sole, plaice, halibut, flounder and turbot. 0 fish on EveryFish so far.
Flatfish, the order Pleuronectiformes, lie on one side on the sea floor with both eyes on the upper side of the head. They hatch as normal upright larvae, and one eye moves across the head as they grow. There are about 800 species, including soles, plaice, flounders, turbot and halibut. Most live on sand and mud in coastal seas, and they can change colour to match the bottom.
Hiding on the bottom
A flatfish settles on its blind side, which stays white, and buries itself with a flick of its fins so that only its eyes show. It waits for shrimps, worms and small fish to come close. Halibut are the giants of the group, growing to more than two metres and hundreds of kilos in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. Soles of Indian waters include the tongue soles, landed in large numbers by trawlers along Kerala's coast.
Fish of the trawl
Flatfish are caught mainly by bottom trawls and seines. Plaice and sole are staples of North Sea fishing, and Dover sole and turbot are costly restaurant fish in Europe. Atlantic halibut was heavily overfished and is now Near Threatened. Turbot and halibut are also farmed. The Indian halibut, Psettodes, is unusual: its eyes may end up on either side, and it often swims upright.
Still to be written: Common sole, European plaice, Atlantic halibut, Pacific halibut, Turbot, Greenland halibut, Psettodes erumei, Summer flounder.
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