A flatfish is a member of the

ray-finned Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or ho ...

demersal fish Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes (the demersal zone).Walrond Carl . "Coastal fish - Fish of the open sea floor"Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 2 March 2009 They oc ...

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

Pleuronectiformes, also called the Heterosomata, sometimes classified as a suborder of Perciformes. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the head, one or the other migrating through or around the head during development. Some species face their left sides upward, some face their right sides upward, and others face either side upward. Many important food fish are in this order, including the

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 estuaries. Taxonomy The name "flounder" is used for several only distantly related species, thou ...

s, soles, turbot, plaice, and halibut. Some flatfish can

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

themselves on the ocean floor.

Taxonomy

Over 800 described species are placed into 16 families. Broadly, the flatfishes are divided into two suborders, Psettodoidei and Pleuronectoidei, with > 99% of the species diversity found within the Pleuronectoidei. The largest families are Soleidae,

Bothidae Bothidae or lefteye flounders are a family of flounders. They are called "lefteye flounders" because most species lie on the sea bottom on their right sides, with both eyes on their left sides. The family is also distinguished by the presence of ...

and Cynoglossidae with more than 150 species each. There also exist two monotypic families ( Paralichthodidae and Oncopteridae). Some families are the results of relatively recent splits. For example, the

Achiridae The American soles are a family (Achiridae) of flatfish occurring in both freshwater and marine environments of the Americas. The family includes about 35 species in seven genera. These are closely related to the soles (Soleidae), and have be ...

were classified as a subfamily of Soleidae in the past, and the Samaridae were considered a subfamily of the Pleuronectidae.Randall, J. E. (2007). ''Reef and Shore Fishes of the Hawaiian Islands.'' Cooper, J.A.; and Chapleau, F. (1998). ''Monophyly and intrarelationships of the family Pleuronectidae (Pleuronectiformes), with a revised classification.'' Fish. Bull. 96 (4): 686–726. The families Paralichthodidae, Poecilopsettidae, and Rhombosoleidae were also traditionally treated as subfamilies of Pleuronectidae, but are now recognised as families in their own right. The Paralichthyidae has long been indicated to be paraphyletic, with the formal description of Cyclopsettidae in 2019 resulting in the split of this family as well. The taxonomy of some groups is in need of a review, as the last monograph covering the entire order was John Roxborough Norman's ''Monograph of the Flatfishes'' published in 1934. In particular, '' Tephrinectes sinensis'' may represent a family-level lineage and requires further evaluation e.g.

New species A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have be ...

are described with some regularity and undescribed species likely remain.

Hybrids

Hybrids are well known in flatfishes. The Pleuronectidae, of marine fishes, have the largest number of reported hybrids.Garrett, D.L.; Pietsch, T.W.; Utter, F.M.; and Hauser, L. (2007). ''The Hybrid Sole Inopsetta ischyra (Teleostei: Pleuronectiformes: Pleuronectidae): Hybrid or Biological Species?'' American Fisheries Society 136: 460–468 Two of the most famous intergeneric hybrids are between the European plaice (''Pleuronectes platessa'') and European flounder (''Platichthys flesus'') in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

, and between the

English sole The English sole (''Parophrys vetulus'') is a flatfish of 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 weigh up ...

(''Parophrys vetulus'') and

starry flounder The starry flounder (''Platichthys stellatus''), also known as the grindstone, emery wheel and long-nosed flounder, is a common flatfish found around the margins of the North Pacific. The distinctive features of the starry flounder include the c ...

(''Platichthys stellatus'') in

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected m ...

. The offspring of the latter species pair is popularly known as the hybrid sole and was initially believed to be a valid species in its own right.

Distribution

Flatfishes are found in oceans worldwide, ranging from the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

, through the tropics, to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

. Species diversity is centered in the Indo-West Pacific and declines following both latitudinal and longitudinal gradients away from the Indo-West Pacific. Most species are found in depths between 0 and , but a few have been recorded from depths in excess of . None have been confirmed from the abyssal or hadal zones. An observation of a flatfish from the Bathyscaphe Trieste at the bottom of the Mariana Trench at a depth of almost has been questioned by fish experts, and recent authorities do not recognize it as valid. Among the deepwater species, '' Symphurus thermophilus'' lives congregating around "ponds" of sulphur at hydrothermal vents on the seafloor. No other flatfish is known from hydrothermal vents. Many species will enter

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estua ...

or fresh water, and a smaller number of soles (families

and Soleidae) and tonguefish ( Cynoglossidae) are entirely restricted to fresh water.

Characteristics

The most obvious characteristic of the flatfish is its asymmetry, with both eyes lying on the same side of the head in the adult fish. In some families, the eyes are usually on the right side of the body (dextral or right-eyed flatfish), and in others, they are usually on the left (sinistral or left-eyed flatfish). The primitive spiny turbots include equal numbers of right- and left-sided individuals, and are generally less asymmetrical than the other families. Other distinguishing features of the order are the presence of protrusible eyes, another adaptation to living on the

seabed The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as 'seabeds'. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most o ...

(

benthos Benthos (), also known as benthon, is the community of organisms that live on, in, or near the bottom of a sea, river, lake, or stream, also known as the benthic zone.camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

the fish, but sometimes with striking coloured patterns. Some flatfishes are also able to change their pigmentation to match the background, in a manner similar to some

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

. The side of the body without the eyes, facing the seabed, is usually colourless or very pale. In general, flatfishes rely on their camouflage for avoiding predators, but some have aposematic traits such as conspicuous eyespots (e.g., '' Microchirus ocellatus'') and several small tropical species (at least ''

Aseraggodes ''Aseraggodes'' is a genus of soles native to the Indian and Pacific oceans. These small flatfishes are poisonous. Species It is by far the most species rich genus in the family Soleidae, as there currently are 54 recognized species: * '' Aser ...

'', '' Pardachirus'' and ''

Zebrias Background ''Zebrias'' is a genus of sole fish belonging in the Soleidae family. They are also Actinopteri fish (ray-finned fish) and Pleuronectiformes (flatfishes). Historically, flatfish such as Zebrias have evolutionary evolved very rapidly. ...

'') are poisonous. Juveniles of ''

Soleichthys maculosus ''Soleichthys'' is a genus of small soles native to coastal waters in the Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it compris ...

'' mimic toxic flatworms of the genus '' Pseudobiceros'' in both colours and swimming mode. Conversely, a few

octopus An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, ...

species have been reported to mimic flatfishes in colours, shape and swimming mode. The

s and spiny turbots eat smaller fish, and have well-developed teeth. They sometimes seek prey in the midwater, away from the bottom, and show fewer extreme adaptations than other families. The soles, by contrast, are almost exclusively bottom-dwellers, and feed on invertebrates. They show a more extreme asymmetry, and may lack teeth on one side of the jaw. Flatfishes range in size from '' Tarphops oligolepis'', measuring about in length, and weighing , to 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 teleost (bony) fish in ...

, at and .

Species and species groups

* Brill *

Dab DAB, dab, dabs, or dabbing may refer to: Dictionaries * '' Dictionary of American Biography'', published under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies * ''Dictionary of Australian Biography'', published since 1949 Places * Dą ...

Sanddab ''Citharichthys'' is a genus of flatfish in the large-tooth flounder family, Paralichthyidae. They have both eyes on the left sides of their heads. They are native to the oceans around the Americas, with a single species, ''C. stampflii'' off t ...

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 estuaries. Taxonomy The name "flounder" is used for several only distantly related species, thou ...

* Halibut * Megrim * Plaice * Sole * Tonguefish * Turbot

Reproduction

Flatfishes lay eggs that hatch into larvae resembling typical, symmetrical, fish. These are initially elongated, but quickly develop into a more rounded form. The larvae typically have protective spines on the head, over the gills, and in the pelvic and pectoral fins. They also possess a swim bladder, and do not dwell on the bottom, instead dispersing from their hatching grounds as

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a cruc ...

. The length of the planktonic stage varies between different types of flatfishes, but eventually they begin to metamorphose into the adult form. One of the eyes migrates across the top of the head and onto the other side of the body, leaving the fish blind on one side. The larva also loses its swim bladder and spines, and sinks to the bottom, laying its blind side on the underlying surface.

Evolution

In 2008, a 50-million-year-old fossil, ''

Amphistium ''Amphistium paradoxum'' (from el, ἀμφί , 'on both sides', el, ιστίον 'sail', and el, παράδοξος 'extraordinary'), the only species classified under the genus ''Amphistium'', is a fossil fish which has been identified as a ...

'', was identified as an early relative of the flatfish and transitional fossil. In a typical modern flatfish, the head is asymmetric, with both eyes on one side of the head. In ''Amphistium'', the transition from the typical symmetric head of a vertebrate is incomplete, with one eye placed near the top of the head. The researchers concluded, "the change happened gradually, in a way consistent with evolution via

natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Cha ...

—not suddenly, as researchers once had little choice but to believe." Flatfishes have been cited as dramatic examples of evolutionary adaptation.

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ...

, in '' The Blind Watchmaker'', explains the flatfishes' evolutionary history thus:

…bony fish as a rule have a marked tendency to be flattened in a vertical direction…. It was natural, therefore, that when the ancestors of latfishtook to the sea bottom, they should have lain on one ''side''…. But this raised the problem that one eye was always looking down into the sand and was effectively useless. In evolution this problem was solved by the lower eye ‘moving’ round to the upper side.

File:Pleuronectes platessa.jpg, The European plaice is the principal commercial flatfish in Europe. File:Lined sole.jpg,

American sole The American soles are a family (Achiridae) of flatfish occurring in both freshwater and marine environments of the Americas. The family includes about 35 species in seven genera. These are closely related to the soles (Soleidae), and have be ...

s are found in both freshwater and marine environments of the Americas. File:Alaska 2007 071.jpg, Halibut are the largest of the flatfishes, and provide lucrative fisheries. File:Psetta maxima Luc Viatour.jpg, The turbot is a large, left-eyed flatfish found in sandy shallow coastal waters around Europe. File:Flatfish-lefteyed-flounder.jpg, Flatfish (left‐eyed flounder)

As food

Flatfish is considered a Whitefish because of the high concentration of oils within its liver. Its lean flesh makes for a unique flavor that differs from species to species. Methods of cooking include grilling, pan-frying, baking and deep-frying.

Timeline of genera

ImageSize = width:600px height:auto barincrement:15px PlotArea = left:10px bottom:50px top:10px right:10px Period = from:-65.5 till:15 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:-65.5 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:-65.5 TimeAxis = orientation:hor AlignBars = justify Colors = #legends id:CAR value:claret id:ANK value:rgb(0.4,0.3,0.196) id:HER value:teal id:HAD value:green id:OMN value:blue id:white value:black id:white value:white id:cenozoic value:rgb(0.54,0.54,0.258) id:paleogene value:rgb(0.99,0.6,0.32) id:paleocene value:rgb(0.99,0.65,0.37) id:eocene value:rgb(0.99,0.71,0.42) id:oligocene value:rgb(0.99,0.75,0.48) id:neogene value:rgb(0.999999,0.9,0.1) id:miocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.999999,0) id:pliocene value:rgb(0.97,0.98,0.68) id:quaternary value:rgb(0.98,0.98,0.5) id:pleistocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.95,0.68) id:holocene value:rgb(0.999,0.95,0.88) BarData= bar:eratop bar:space bar:periodtop bar:space bar:NAM1 bar:NAM2 bar:NAM3 bar:NAM4 bar:NAM5 bar:NAM6 bar:NAM7 bar:NAM8 bar:NAM9 bar:NAM10 bar:NAM11 bar:NAM12 bar:NAM13 bar:NAM14 bar:NAM15 bar:NAM16 bar:NAM17 bar:NAM18 bar:NAM19 bar:NAM20 bar:NAM21 bar:NAM22 bar:NAM23 bar:NAM24 bar:NAM25 bar:NAM26 bar:NAM27 bar:NAM28 bar:NAM29 bar:NAM30 bar:NAM31 bar:NAM32 bar:NAM33 bar:NAM34 bar:NAM35 bar:NAM36 bar:NAM37 bar:NAM38 bar:space bar:period bar:space bar:era PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 shift:(7,-4) bar:periodtop from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pala ...

from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', ...

from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but t ...

from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio. from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text: Pleist. from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H. bar:eratop from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text: Paleogene from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text: Neogene from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q. PlotData= align:left fontsize:M mark:(line,white) width:5 anchor:till align:left color:eocene bar:NAM1 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text:

color:eocene bar:NAM2 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text: Eobothus color:eocene bar:NAM3 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text: Eobuglossus color:eocene bar:NAM4 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text: Imhoffius color:eocene bar:NAM5 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text:

Joleaudichthys ''Joleaudichthys'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric flatfish that lived from the early to middle Eocene of Egypt. See also * Prehistoric fish * List of prehistoric bony fish A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also re ...

color:eocene bar:NAM6 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text: Turahbuglossus color:eocene bar:NAM7 from:-55.8 till:0 text:

Scophthalmus ''Scophthalmus'' is a genus of turbots, relatively large flatfish native to the northeast Atlantic Ocean, Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea. Species There are currently four recognized species in this genus: *''Scophthalmus aquosus' ...

color:eocene bar:NAM8 from:-55.8 till:0 text: Citharus color:eocene bar:NAM9 from:-55.8 till:0 text: Psettodes color:eocene bar:NAM10 from:-37.2 till:0 text:

Arnoglossus The scaldfishes comprise a genus, ''Arnoglossus'', of lefteye flounders. They are found in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans, including the Mediterranean and Black Sea. They are entirely absent from most of the Americas; the only exceptio ...

color:oligocene bar:NAM11 from:-33.9 till:0 text:

Bothus ''Bothus'' is a genus of flatfish in the family Bothidae (lefteye flounders) from the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Some species in this genus have spots consisting of blue rings. Species There are currently 16 recognized species in this ...

color:oligocene bar:NAM12 from:-33.9 till:0 text:

Monolene ''Monolene'' is a genus of small, mainly deepwater lefteye flounders from the Atlantic and East Pacific. Species The currently recognized species in this genus are: * '' Monolene antillarum'' Norman, 1933 (slim flounder) * '' Monolene asaedai'' ...

color:oligocene bar:NAM13 from:-33.9 till:0 text:

Solea Solea may refer to: * Solea, a simple sandal with a thong between the toes and a hobnailed sole from Roman times * Soleá, a form of Flamenco music * ''Solea'' (novel) by Jean-Claude Izzo * Soléa, a public transit system in the French city of Mul ...

color:oligocene bar:NAM14 from:-28.4 till:0 text:

Buglossidium The solenette or yellow sole, ''Buglossidium luteum'', is a species of flatfish in the family Soleidae, and the only member of its genus. It is characterized by its small size, low-slung semi-circular mouth, and regularly placed dark fin rays. A ...

color:oligocene bar:NAM15 from:-28.4 till:0 text:

Hippoglossoides ''Hippoglossoides'' is a genus of righteye flounders native to the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans. Species There are currently four recognized species in this genus: * '' Hippoglossoides dubius'' Schmidt, 1904 (Flathead flounder) * '' ...

color:oligocene bar:NAM16 from:-28.4 till:0 text:

Lepidorhombus ''Lepidorhombus'' is a genus of turbots native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% ...

color:miocene bar:NAM17 from:-23.03 till:0 text: Dicologoglossa color:miocene bar:NAM18 from:-23.03 till:0 text: Paraplagusia color:miocene bar:NAM19 from:-23.03 till:0 text: Platichthys color:miocene bar:NAM20 from:-15.97 till:0 text: Achiurus color:miocene bar:NAM21 from:-15.97 till:0 text: Microchirus color:miocene bar:NAM22 from:-15.97 till:0 text:

Microstomus ''Microstomus'' is a genus of righteye flounders native to the North Pacific and Northeast Atlantic oceans. Etymology The word ''Microstomus'' is derived from the Greek ''μικρὸς'' (''mikros''), meaning "small", and ''στόμα'' (''stom ...

color:miocene bar:NAM23 from:-11.608 till:-5.332 text: Evesthes color:miocene bar:NAM24 from:-11.608 till:0 text:

Citharichthys ''Citharichthys'' is a genus of flatfish in the large-tooth flounder family, Paralichthyidae. They have both eyes on the left sides of their heads. They are native to the oceans around the Americas, with a single species, ''C. stampflii'' off the ...

color:miocene bar:NAM25 from:-11.608 till:0 text:

Monochirus ''Monochirus'' is a genus of small soles. It contains two species; one from the northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean, and the second from the South China Sea. Species There are currently two recognized species in this genus: * '' Monochirus hi ...

color:miocene bar:NAM26 from:-11.608 till:0 text: Paralichthys color:miocene bar:NAM27 from:-11.608 till:0 text: Pleuronichthys color:pliocene bar:NAM28 from:-5.332 till:0 text: Atheresthes color:pliocene bar:NAM29 from:-5.332 till:0 text: Clidoderma color:pliocene bar:NAM30 from:-5.332 till:0 text: Glyptocephalus color:pliocene bar:NAM31 from:-5.332 till:0 text:

Limanda ''Limanda'' is a genus of righteye flounders native to the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans. A 2018 cladistic morphological and genetic analysis found that the genus is not monophyletic, and has proposed ''L. ferruginea'', ''L. proboscide ...

color:pliocene bar:NAM32 from:-5.332 till:0 text: Lyopsetta color:pliocene bar:NAM33 from:-5.332 till:0 text:

Pegusa ''Pegusa'' is a genus of soles native to the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Black Sea. Species The currently recognized species in this genus are: * '' Pegusa cadenati'' Chabanaud, 1954 (Cadenat's sole) * '' Pegusa impar'' ( ...

color:pleistocene bar:NAM34 from:-2.588 till:-0.0117 text: Chibapsetta color:pleistocene bar:NAM35 from:-2.588 till:0 text:

Eopsetta ''Eopsetta'' is a genus of righteye flounders native to the North Pacific Ocean North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjecti ...

color:pleistocene bar:NAM36 from:-2.588 till:0 text: Isopsetta color:pleistocene bar:NAM37 from:-2.588 till:0 text: Parophrys color:pleistocene bar:NAM38 from:-2.588 till:0 text: Symphurus PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 bar:period from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:

from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:

from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:

from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:

from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio. from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text: Pleist. from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H. bar:era from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text: Paleogene from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text: Neogene from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q.

References

Further references

* * Gibson, Robin N (Ed) (2008) Flatfishes: biology and exploitation. Wiley. * Munroe, Thomas A (2005) "Distributions and biogeography." Flatfishes: Biology and Exploitation: 42-67.

External links

Information on Canadian fisheries of plaice
{{Authority control Commercial fish Articles which contain graphical timelines Extant Paleocene first appearances Asymmetry