Flounders are a group of flatfish species. They are demersal fish, found at the bottom of oceans around the world; some species will also enter estuaries.
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.
Pleuronectidae, also known as righteye flounders, are a family of flounders. They are called "righteye flounders" because most species lie on the sea bottom on their left sides, with both eyes on their right sides. The Paralichthyidae are the opposite, with their eyes on the left side. A small number of species in Pleuronectidae can also have their eyes on the left side, notably the members of the genus Platichthys.
The European plaice, commonly referred to as simply plaice, is a species of marine flatfish in the genus Pleuronectes of the family Pleuronectidae.
The black flounder, also known by the Māori language name mohoao, is a flatfish of the genus Rhombosolea, found around New Zealand in shallow enclosed waters and coastal freshwater lakes. Its adult length ranges from 20 to 45 cm.
Large-tooth flounders or sand flounders are a family, Paralichthyidae, of flounders. The family contains 14 genera with a total of about 110 species. They lie on the sea bed on their right side; both eyes are always on the left side of the head, while the Pleuronectidae usually have their eyes on the right side of the head.
The yellowbelly flounder is a flatfish of the genus Rhombosolea, found around New Zealand. A different species from the genus Rhombosolea is found in Australia and also goes by the name yellow-belly flounder. The Māori people have commonly fished for R. leporina, and many other species of flatfish, throughout New Zealand's coastal waters for hundreds of years. The Māori name for this species is pātiki tōtara.
The greenback flounder is a righteye flounder of the genus Rhombosolea, found around southern Australia and New Zealand.
The New Zealand sand flounder is a righteye flounder of the genus Rhombosolea, found around New Zealand in shallow waters down to depths of 100 m.
The New Zealand turbot, Colistium nudipinnis, is a righteye flounder of the subfamily Rhombosoleinae in the family Pleuronectidae, found around New Zealand in shallow enclosed waters.
The yellowtail flounder, also known as the rusty dab, is a species of flatfish in the family Pleuronectidae. Reaching 56 cm (22 in) in length, it has reddish brown upperparts, pale underparts and yellow fins. Both its eyes are on the right (upper) side of its body. Found in the western North Atlantic, it has been fished commercially by North American fisheries for food. A victim of overfishing, the yellowtail flounder is categorized as "Vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Rhombosolea is a genus of righteye flounders. The four species in this genus can be found in the waters around New Zealand and southern Australia.
The European flounder is a flatfish of European coastal waters from the White Sea in the north to the Mediterranean and the Black Sea in the south. It has been introduced into the United States and Canada accidentally through transport in ballast water. It is caught and used for human consumption.
Samaridae is a family of crested flounders, small flatfishes native to the Indo-Pacific. The family contains four genera with a total of 29 species.
Platichthys is a genus of flatfish native to the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans. Despite being in the family Pleuronectidae, all four species in the genus Platichthys are often "lefteyed", i.e. they lie on the sea bottom on their right side, with both eyes on the left side.
The Pacific sand sole, also known as simply sand sole, is a flatfish species inhabiting the northeastern Pacific waters where it lives on sandy bottoms. The only species in the genus, Psettichthys, it ranges from the Bering Sea to Northern California.
The Remo flounder, Oncopterus darwinii, is an edible flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. It is a demersal fish that lives on bottoms at depths of between 20 and 80 metres. Its native habitat is the southwestern Atlantic along the southeast coast of South America, from Santa Catarina, Brazil in the north to the San Matías Gulf, Argentina in the south. It can reach 30 centimetres (12 in) in length.
The Indonesian ocellated flounder, Psammodiscus ocellatus, is an edible flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. It is a demersal fish that lives on sandy bottoms in the eastern Indian Ocean, particularly Indonesia and northwestern Australia. It can reach 15 centimetres (5.9 in) in length.
The Poecilopsettidae are a family of flatfish in the order Pleuronectiformes, comprising three genera and 21 species. Species are typically demersal, living on marine bottoms at depths between 60 and 500 m in the Indo-Pacific and northwestern Atlantic; the deepest recorded occurrence is 1,636 m (5,367 ft) in the deepwater dab, Poecilopsetta beanii. Sizes range from 9 to 19 cm in length, though most species are usually under 15 cm (5.9 in) long. Diets consist of zoobenthos.
The small-mouth righteye flounder is a flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. It is a demersal fish that lives on saltwater bottoms from depths of 304 metres (997 ft). Its natural habitat is the tropical waters of the southwest Pacific. It can grow up to 10 centimetres (3.9 in) in length.
