A flatfish is a member of the ray-finned demersal fish order Pleuronectiformes, also called the Heterosomata, sometimes classified as a suborder of Perciformes. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the head, one or the other migrating through or around the head during development. Some species face their left sides upward, some face their right sides upward, and others face either side upward.
The true soles are a family, Soleidae, of flatfishes. It includes saltwater and brackish water species in the East Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and West and Central Pacific Ocean. Freshwater species are found in Africa, southern Asia, New Guinea, and Australia.
Eobothus is an extinct genus of very small, fossil marine flatfish known the Eocene. It is one of the oldest flatfish known from fossil remains.
Tura was the primary quarry for limestone in ancient Egypt. The site, which was known by the ancient Egyptians as Troyu or Royu, is located about halfway between modern-day Cairo and Helwan. Its ancient Egyptian name was misinterpreted by the ancient Greek geographer Strabo, who thought it meant it was inhabited by Trojans, thus the Hellenistic city was named Troia. The site is located by the modern town of Tora in the Cairo Governorate.
Eaglesomia is an extinct genus of catfish, most likely of the family Claroteidae, that inhabited western Africa during the Eocene. It contains a single species, E. eaglesomei, known from the presumably Lutetian-aged marine Oshosun and Ameki Formations of Nigeria.
Cryptoberyx is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish that lived during the late Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous. Two species are known from southern Europe and the Middle East, both part of the former Tethys Sea.
Casierius is an extinct genus of marine ray-finned fish that lived during the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous epoch. It was a relative of the modern bonefish in the extinct family Phyllodontidae, although some authorities consider it either a true albulid or a very early eel. It contains a single species, C. heckeli, known from the Glen Rose Formation near Hood County, Texas.
Stromerichthys is an extinct genus of potentially chimaeric freshwater bony fish that lived during the Late Cretaceous epoch. It contains a single species, S. aethiopicus, described from a now-lost specimen with bones & scales from Egypt.
Australosomus is an extinct genus of prehistoric ray-finned fish that lived during the Early Triassic epoch in what is now Greenland, Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, South Africa and Canada.
Pteronisculus is an extinct genus of prehistoric ray-finned fish that lived during the Early Triassic and Middle Triassic epochs of the Triassic period worldwide.
Mylomyrus is an extinct genus of prehistoric bony fish that lived from the early to middle Eocene Epoch.
Ainia is an extinct genus of prehistoric ray-finned fish that lived during the Kimmeridgian stage of the Late Jurassic epoch. It contains a single species, A. armata, known from the famous Solnhofen Limestone of Germany. It is a distant relative of the bowfin, although it is more closely related to genera such as Caturus and Osteorachis.
Crenilepis is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish that lived in the seas of present-day Europe during the Middle Triassic epoch. It contains a single species, C. sandbergi from the Anisian of Germany, Spain, and the Besano Formation of the Swiss-Italian border.
Blabe is an extinct genus of small, prehistoric ray-finned fish probably belonging to the family Serranidae that lived during the middle division of the Eocene epoch of Egypt. It has a single known species, B. crawleyi, known from the Upper Lutetian Mokattam Formation limestone of the ancient Tura quarry.
Eoplatax is an extinct genus of prehistoric spadefish that lived during the Lutetian of Monte Bolca. They are closely allied to the extant genus, Platax, more commonly known as "batfish."
Clupavus is an extinct genus of marine ray-finned fish that lived during the middle of the Cretaceous period. It is known from North Africa, Europe, Brazil, and possibly North America.
Diaphyodus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish, generally considered a drumfish, from the Late Paleocene and Eocene, and potentially to the mid-Oligocene of Europe and North America.
Dapalis is an extinct genus of prehistoric glassfish known from the Late Cretaceous to the Early Miocene. It is known from both freshwater and marine habitats of India, Australia, New Zealand, and much of mainland Europe.
Cylindracanthus is an extinct, enigmatic genus of marine ray-finned fish with fossils known throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Africa from the Late Cretaceous to the late Eocene, with potential Oligocene records and a possible Miocene record also known. It is exclusively known from its distinctive partial remains, which are long cylindrical bony spines that are usually considered rostrum fragments, as well as some associated teeth. These spines are abundant & widespread throughout this timespan, and are useful indicators of a nearshore marine environment, but the taxonomic identity of the fish is still highly uncertain and debated.
Egertonia is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine and estuarine ray-finned fish known from the Late Cretaceous to the middle Eocene. It contains one known species, E. isodonta, although indeterminate remains potentially referable to other species are also known. It was a member of the Phyllodontidae, an extinct family of elopomorph fish with crushing tooth plates, which are the primary remains found of the genus.
