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Family
Pleuronectidae (Righteye Flounders)
Species Currently in the DFL
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About This Family
Distribution:
Arctic, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans; predominantly marine, occasionally in brackish water, rare in freshwater.
Habitat:
On the bottom.
Remarks:
Like all flatfishes, Pleuronectid Flounders, commonly known as Righteye Flounders begin life as bilaterally symmetric, pelagic fishes. During the larval stage or shortly thereafter, the left eye migrates to the right side of the head and the fish settles on the ocean floor.
Righteye Flounders are highly compressed, asymmetrical fishes. However the lateral line is well developed on both sides of the body and the pelvic fins are symmetrical. The dorsal fin begins right above the bulbous eyes.
The Pleuronectid Flounders consist of five subfamilies: Hippoglossinae, Eopsettinae, Lyopsettinae, Hippoglossoidinae, Pleuronectinae. This family comprises 23 genera and about 60 species. The commercially important Atlantic and Pacific Halibuts belong to this family.
References:
Cooper & Chapleau 1998;
Helfman et al. 1997;
Nelson 2006