Platichthys is a genus of flatfish native to the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans. Despite being in the family Pleuronectidae (popularly known as righteye flounders), 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.Eschmeyer W.N.; Herald, E.S.; and Hammann, H. (1983). A Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes. Peterson Field Guides. Muus, B.J; Nielsen, J.G.; Dahlstrøm, P.; Nyström, B.O. (1991). Sea Fish.
Species There are currently four recognized species in this genus: Image Scientific name Common name Distribution Platichthys bicoloratus (Basilewsky, 1855) Stone flounder Northwest Pacific from the East China Sea and the coastal waters of southern Japan Platichthys flesus (Linnaeus, 1758) European flounder European coastal waters from the White Sea in the north to the Mediterranean and the Black Sea in the south Platichthys stellatus (Pallas, 1788) Starry flounder North 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, 2018 Baltic flounder the Baltic Sea A single fossil species is known in †Platichthys miostellatus Sakamoto & Uyeno, 1989 from the Middle Miocene of Japan.
References
Further reading Momigliano, M.; G.P.J. Denys; H. Jokinen; and J. Merilä (2018). Platichthys solemdali sp. nov. (Actinopterygii, Pleuronectiformes): A New Flounder Species From the Baltic Sea. Front. Mar. Sci. 5(225).