Page 15 - Super Shark Encyclopedia

SHIFTY EYES

LEFTEYE

FLOUNDERS

It takes time to turn into a flatfish like a flounder.
There is nothing especially unusual about baby
flounders: they swim in the open sea with one eye on
each side of their head just like most other fish. But as
weeks of growth go by, one eye shifts upward and over
the head—until it joins the other one on the opposite
side. In lefteye flounders both eyes end up on the
left side of the fish. The flounder then settles on the
seabed on its eyeless right side and lives the rest of its
life with both eyes facing up into the water.

AT A GLANCE

• SIZE 2 ⁄2–35 in (6–90 cm) long
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• HABITAT Coastal marine waters, on
the ocean bed; adults migrate into the
open ocean to lay eggs
• LOCATION Oceans worldwide

• DIET Bottom-living invertebrates
and fish

STATS AND FACTS

TIME TAKEN TO TRANSFORM
2–21 days Some species of
adult flounders settle
in deeper waters
days 5 10 15 20 25 than others. All of
them live on sand or
mud, often buried
DEPTH
for their protection.
ft 600 1,200 1,800
m 200 400 600
33–660 ft/10–200 m (usual) 1,640 ft/500 m (max.)

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