When I was a graduate student, I spend summers at the Marine Biological Laboratory and learned a lot of stuff that you would not necessarily find in books about fish. One of the things that I learned was the difference between a fluke and a flounder. As most people know, flukes and flounders and flat bottom-dwelling fish. They lie on one side and evolved their development such that one of their eyes migrates to the side that is up. I learned that flukes were left-side up fish, i.e. their left side faces up and their right eye had migrated to the left side. Flounders, on the other hand, were right-side-up fishes.
Why has this stuck in my memory for all these years? Well, I have always wondered how the left side of the body knows that it is the left and how the right side knows that it is the right. The fact that flounders and fluke know mean that there is a definitive marker for leftness and rightness. Now, there were confusing names for these fish. For example, in New England and New York, flukes are sometimes called summer flounders (Paralichthys dentatus). In contrast, the flounder is called the winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus). http://www.scottsbt.com/fishids/idcom/flounder.htm
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...americanus.jpg
So, I was surprised when the gulf flounder (Paralichthys albigutta) turned out to be a left-side up fish.
On the other hand, this picture of a 10-lb whopper of a flatfish is called a flounder and it is left-side up fish
According to the University of Delaware Sea Grant web site (Source), the winter flounder is the most common shallow water flatfish and is right-sided.
WINTER FLOUNDER (Pseuopleuronectes americanus)
The summer flounder or fluke is a left-sided fish.
SUMMER FLOUNDER (Paralichthys dentatus)
For those interested in cooking
Why has this stuck in my memory for all these years? Well, I have always wondered how the left side of the body knows that it is the left and how the right side knows that it is the right. The fact that flounders and fluke know mean that there is a definitive marker for leftness and rightness. Now, there were confusing names for these fish. For example, in New England and New York, flukes are sometimes called summer flounders (Paralichthys dentatus). In contrast, the flounder is called the winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus). http://www.scottsbt.com/fishids/idcom/flounder.htm
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...americanus.jpg
So, I was surprised when the gulf flounder (Paralichthys albigutta) turned out to be a left-side up fish.
On the other hand, this picture of a 10-lb whopper of a flatfish is called a flounder and it is left-side up fish
According to the University of Delaware Sea Grant web site (Source), the winter flounder is the most common shallow water flatfish and is right-sided.
WINTER FLOUNDER (Pseuopleuronectes americanus)
The summer flounder or fluke is a left-sided fish.
SUMMER FLOUNDER (Paralichthys dentatus)
For those interested in cooking
Care must be taken not to overcook flounder for it is a very low-fat fish. As soon as the flesh turns white, it is done. Handle flounder gently when cooking. You would never stir-fry and would rarely grill flounder. Thinner fillets (1/2 inch or less) work best rolled and microwaved or poached. Thicker fillets may be baked with a sauce, or broiled using moist heat, or fried; pan-fry lightly dusted thinner pieces, and deepfry thicker, boneless pieces that have been dipped in an egg wash and coated.
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