The Pacific sand sole (''Psettichthys melanostictus''), also known as simply sand sole, is a

flatfish A flatfish is a member of the Ray-finned fish, ray-finned demersal fish order (biology), order Pleuronectiformes, also called the Heterosomata, sometimes classified as a suborder of Perciformes. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the ...

species inhabiting the northeastern Pacific waters where it lives on sandy bottoms. The only species in the genus, ''Psettichthys'', it ranges from the Bering Sea to Northern California.

Description and taxonomy

The Pacific sand sole, belongs to the order ''

Pleuronectiformes A flatfish is a member of the ray-finned demersal fish order 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 migratin ...

,'' and the family

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

. They are considered a flatfish due to their body shape, just like

Hippoglossus ''Hippoglossus'' is a genus of very large righteye flounders with one species native to the north Atlantic Ocean and one to the north Pacific Ocean. Etymology The word ''hippoglossus'' is derived from the Greek language, Greek ἵππος (''hi ...

(halibuts),

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 ...

(soles), and Platichthys (flounders). This fish can get over 62.95 cm (24.78 in) in length and on average this fish can weigh approximately 2.484 kg (5.476 lbs). Their dorsal side, which houses both of their eyes, can come in a variety of colors like gray, green, or brown, with blotches of dark brown or black. Their underside or ventral side is usually white. By obtaining these colors, the pacific sand sole fish can have a better advantage of camouflaging into their surroundings; making them harder to see by their prey.

Life cycle

When they are first born, their eyes are on both sides of their body like other fish. However, when the pacific sand sole starts to mature, one of their eyes starts to migrate to either the left or the right side of their body, just like a flounder when their eyes migrate. From that point, their eyes will stay that way. They will live on the bottom of the ocean, on the sand, lying on one side of their body, while both of their eyes are on top of their body.

Habitat

These fish can be found in and around the

Bering Sea The Bering Sea (, ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and The Ameri ...

, all the way down to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

, in 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, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

. These fish will stay on the bottom of the ocean at an average depth of 155 m (508.53 ft). They live on the sandy bottoms of the ocean. They feed on other fish, worms,

crustaceans Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

, and

mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q14672291, from2=Q2690286 Pleuronectidae Fish described in 1854 Taxa named by Charles Frédéric Girard]