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.
Taxonomy
The name "flounder" is used for several only distantly related species, though all are in the suborder Pleuronectoidei (families Achiropsettidae, Bothidae, Pleuronectidae, Paralichthyidae, and Samaridae). Some of the better known species that are important in fisheries are:
Western Atlantic
Gulf flounder – Paralichthys albigutta
Southern flounder – Paralichthys lethostigma
Summer flounder (also known as fluke) – Paralichthys dentatus
In its life cycle, an adult flounder has two eyes on one side of its head, and at hatching one eye is on each side of its head. One eye migrates to the other side of the body through a metamorphosis as it grows from larval to juvenile stage. As an adult, a flounder changes its habits and camouflages itself by lying on the bottom of the ocean floor as protection against predators. As a result, the eyes are then on the side which faces up. The side to which the eyes migrate is dependent on the species type.
Habitat
Flounders ambush their prey, feeding at soft muddy areas of the sea bottom, near bridge piles, docks and coral reefs.
A flounder's diet consists mainly of fish spawn, crustaceans, polychaetes and small fish.
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