Hippoglossus is a genus of very large righteye flounders. It comprises two species of halibut, with one species native to the northern Atlantic Ocean and the other species native to the northern Pacific Ocean.
Etymology The word hippoglossus is derived from the Greek ἵππος (hippos), meaning "horse", and γλῶσσα (glōssa), meaning "tongue" - a reference to the shape of the fish.
Species There are two species in this genus: Image Scientific name Distribution Hippoglossus hippoglossus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Atlantic halibut)northern Atlantic, from Labrador and Greenland to Iceland, the Barents Sea and as far south as the Bay of Biscay and VirginiaHippoglossus stenolepis P. J. Schmidt, 1904 (Pacific halibut)Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea, off the west coast of Canada, coastal Washington, Oregon, and California Fossil remains of an indeterminate Hippoglossus are known from the Middle Miocene-aged Agnevo Formation of Sakhalin, Russia.
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