Pleuronectidae, also known as righteye flounders, are a family of

flounder 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 estuary, estuaries. Taxonomy The name "flounder" is used for several only distantly related speci ...

s. 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''. Their

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

and

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

s are long and continuous, with the dorsal fin extending forward onto the head. Females lay eggs that float in mid-water until the larvae develop, and they sink to the bottom. They are found on the bottoms of oceans around the world, with some species, such as the

Atlantic halibut The Atlantic halibut (''Hippoglossus hippoglossus'') is a flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. They are demersal fish living on or near sand, gravel or clay bottoms at depths of between . The halibut is among the largest Teleostei, teleost (bon ...

, ''Hippoglossus hippoglossus'', being found down to . The smaller species eat sea-floor invertebrates such as

polychaete Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine Annelid, annelid worms, common name, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called c ...

s and

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

s, but the larger righteye flounders, such as ''H. hippoglossus'', which grows up to in length, feed on other fishes and

cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan Taxonomic rank, class Cephalopoda (Greek language, Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral symm ...

s, as well. They include many important commercially fished species, including not only the various fish called

s, but also the European plaice, the halibuts, the

lemon sole The lemon sole (''Microstomus kitt'') is a flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. It is native to shallow seas around Northern Europe, where it lives on stony bottoms down to depths of about . It grows up to in length and reaches about in weigh ...

, the common dab, the Pacific Dover sole, and the flukes. The name of the family is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

πλευρά (''pleura''), meaning "rib" or "side", and νηκτόν (''nekton''), meaning "swimming".

Classification

The family has five subfamilies: * Atheresthinae – one genus with 2 species * Hippoglossinae – 9 extant species in seven genera * Microstominae – 9 species in two genera * Pleuronectinae – 14 genera and 33 species in the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...

* Pleuronichthyinae – 9 species in two genera File:Hippoglossus hippoglossus.jpg,

, ''Hippoglossus hippoglossus'' File:Reinhardtius hippoglossoides.jpg, Greenland halibut, ''Reinhardtius hippoglossoides'' File:Hippoglossoides platessoides.jpg, American plaice, ''H. platessoides'' File:Glyptocephalus cynoglossus.jpg,

Witch Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

, ''Glyptocephalus cynoglossus'' File:Microstomus kitt 1.jpg,

Lemon sole The lemon sole (''Microstomus kitt'') is a flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. It is native to shallow seas around Northern Europe, where it lives on stony bottoms down to depths of about . It grows up to in length and reaches about in weigh ...

, ''Microstomus kitt'' File:Limanda limanda.jpg, Common dab, ''Limanda limanda'' File:Parophrys vetulus 1.jpg,

English sole English sole (''Parophrys vetulus'') is a species of flatfish in the family Pleuronectidae. It is a demersal fish that lives on sandy and muddy bottoms in estuaries and near shore areas, at depths of up to . It reaches up to in length, and can ...

, ''Parophrys vetulus'' File:Psettichthys melanostictus.gif, Pacific sand sole, ''Psettichthys melanostictus''

References

{{Authority control Marine fish families Fish of Korea Carangiformes families

Classification

See also

References