Flounder

ID points

• Extremely flattened body lying flat on the seabed
• Both eyes on the same side of the head
• Upper side changes colour to match the sand; the other side is pure white

Basics

Family

Pleuronectiformes

Length

20–60 cm

Depth

1-100 m

Regions

Indo-Pacific reefs · Caribbean & W. Atlantic · Temperate & polar

Distribution

Sandy bottoms in temperate to tropical shallow seas worldwide

Habitat

Sandy bottoms in shallow seas

Diet

Small fish, bottom-dwelling crustaceans

Easily confused with

ScorpionfishHead covered in skin flaps and spines, breaking up its outlineStonefishAlmost impossible to tell apart from an algae-covered rockToadfishBig flat head and wide mouth, shaped like a toad

Fun fact

A young flounder has one eye on each side of the head, like any ordinary fish. As it grows, one eye slowly migrates across the skull until both sit on the same side, and the fish settles into a flat life on the seabed.