Platichthys


Platichthys is a genus of flatfish native to the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans. Despite being in the family Pleuronectidae, all four species in the genus Platichthys are often "lefteyed", i.e. they lie on the sea bottom on their right side, with both eyes on the left side.

Species

There are currently four recognized species in this genus:
ImageScientific nameCommon nameDistribution
Platichthys bicoloratus Stone flounderNorthwest Pacific from the East China Sea and the coastal waters of southern Japan
Platichthys flesus European flounderEuropean coastal waters from the White Sea in the north to the Mediterranean and the Black Sea in the south
Platichthys stellatus Starry flounderNorth Pacific from the Yellow Sea along the Korean peninsula, Russian Far East, and the Japanese archipelago to the Arctic, extending south through the Bering Sea to California
Platichthys solemdali Momigliano, Denys, Jokinen and Merilä, 2018Baltic flounderthe Baltic Sea

A single fossil species is known in †Platichthys miostellatus Sakamoto & Uyeno, 1989 from the Middle Miocene of Japan.