Flounder is a general term for flounder, which feeds on worms, crustaceans and other animals. Taxonomically, it belongs to Actinidia, Halomorpha. Flatfish has a flat body and its eyes only grow on one side of its body, which has a unique asymmetric structure in fish. The body is very flat, and the adult fish is asymmetrical. The eyes are located on one side of the head, and the mouth, teeth and lateral fins are asymmetrical. The side without eyes is usually without pigment.
Newborn flounder has the same body shape as normal fish, with two eyes on both sides of its head and a mouth in the middle. When the young fish grow up, one eye gradually moves to the top of the head until the other side, and the mouth gradually twists until the adult flounder lies permanently on the bottom of the sea.
The living habits of flounder
They inhabit the shallow sandy seabed and prey on small fish and shrimp, which is especially suitable for benthic life on the seabed. Because their bodies are flat and their eyes are on the upward side of their bodies, the color of this side matches the surrounding environment very well. Flatfish has extremely fine scales on its body surface. The flounder has only one dorsal fin, extending almost from the head to the caudal fin. They mainly live in temperate waters and are important economic fish in temperate waters.
The life habits of flounder are very interesting. When swimming in the water, it doesn't have its back up like other fish, but its side with eyes is up and it swims sideways. It often lies flat on the bottom of the sea, covered with a layer of sand, and only two eyes are exposed to wait for prey and avoid predation. In this way, the advantages of two eyes on one side are displayed, which is of course the result of animal evolution and natural selection.