flatfish

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 migrating through or around the head during development.

Scientific name: Pleuronectiformes

Higher classification: Acanthopterygii

Rank: Order

Class: Actinopterygii

Phylum: Chordata

All flatfish are rather flat, and have rays. They swim sideways. 

Some can hide on the  ocean floor ,waiting for prey .They have a capacity for dynamic  camouflage , which is under nervous control, and can change in 'real time'.

They become sand-colored on sandy bottoms and patchy stone-colored on pebbly bottoms. You can hardly see them anymore. Flatfish begin their lives as normal swimming fish but get a flattened body within a couple of weeks. They are totally adapted to living on the sea floor. Even their eyes move to one side of their head. If you were to weigh all the fish in the southern north see around one third of the total would be flatfish.