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 Liparidae, commonly known as snailfish or sea snails, are a family of marine scorpaeniform fishes.
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 Antarctic silverfish is a species of notothen native to the Southern Ocean and the only truly pelagic fish in the waters near Antarctica. It is a keystone species in the ecosystem of the Southern Ocean.
The starry flounder, also known as the grindstone, emery wheel and long-nosed flounder, is a common flatfish found around the margins of the North Pacific.
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 'patiki totara'.
Neoachiropsetta milfordi, the armless flounder or finless flounder, is a species of southern flounder, the only member of the genus Neoachiropsetta. It is found in Antarctic and subantarctic waters, in depths of between 100 and 1,000 metres, and grows to a length of 57 centimetres (22 in)
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 banded-fin flounder or spotted flounder, Azygopus pinnifasciatus, is a righteye flounder and the only species in the genus Azygopus. It is found off southern Australia and New Zealand, on the continental slope at depths of between 120 and 900 m. Its length is up to 20 cm (7.9 in).
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 winter flounder, also known as the black back, is a right-eyed ("dextral") flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. It is native to coastal waters of the western north Atlantic coast, from Labrador, Canada to Georgia, United States, although it is less common south of Delaware Bay. It is the most common near-shore (shallow-water) flounder in the waters from Newfoundland down through Massachusetts Bay, reaching a maximum size around 61 cm in length and 2.25 kg in weight. The species grows larger on Georges Bank, where they can reach a length of 70 cm and weight of 3.6 kg. Although winter flounder historically supported large commercial and recreational fisheries, biomass and landings have decreased since the 1980s.
The scoophead is a little-known species of hammerhead shark, part of the family Sphyrnidae. It inhabits the tropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean, from Panama to southern Brazil, and in the eastern Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California to Ecuador, and probably northern Peru, as well. It is found in shallow, inshore habitats.
Glyptocephalus cynoglossus, known in English by a variety of common names including the witch, witch flounder, pole flounder, craig fluke, Torbay sole and grey sole, is a species of flatfish from the family Pleuronectidae. It occurs on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean on muddy sea beds in quite deep water. In northern Europe it has some importance in fisheries as a food fish.
The Antarctic armless flounder(Mancopsetta maculata) is a species of southern flounder found on subantarctic shelves, around Antarctic islands, and banks off East Antarctica. This species can grow to a length of 50 centimetres (20 in) SL. It lives in depths of from 100 to 1,115 metres.
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.
The colossal squid is part of the family Cranchiidae. It is sometimes called the Antarctic squid or giant cranch squid and is believed to be the largest squid species in terms of mass. It is the only recognized member of the genus Mesonychoteuthis and is known from only a small number of specimens. The species is confirmed to reach a mass of at least 495 kilograms (1,091 lb), though the largest specimens—known only from beaks found in sperm whale stomachs—may perhaps weigh as much as 600–700 kilograms (1,300–1,500 lb), making it the largest-known invertebrate. Maximum total length has been estimated at 9–10 metres (30–33 ft).
The wildlife of Antarctica are extremophiles, having to adapt to the dryness, low temperatures, and high exposure common in Antarctica. The extreme weather of the interior contrasts to the relatively mild conditions on the Antarctic Peninsula and the subantarctic islands, which have warmer temperatures and more liquid water. Much of the ocean around the mainland is covered by sea ice. The oceans themselves are a more stable environment for life, both in the water column and on the seabed.
The eyed flounder is a species of fish in the family Bothidae. The species is found on or near the sandy seabed in relatively shallow waters in the western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Pseudorhombus arsius, the largetooth flounder, is a species of left-eyed flatfish, that is the dark side with the eyes on the adult fish is the left side of the fish's body, from the family Paralichthyidae. As Rhombus polyspilos it was named as the type species of the genus Pseudorhombus. It is an Indo-Pacific species and is fished for by both recreational and commercial fisheries.
