Flat fish from all over the world

Posted By ~ 6th July 2010

There are thousand of species of flat fish in the entire world. They have evolved to be flat because they have several advantages form this from. Some fish are flat horizontally like the catfish for example, while others are flat vertically like the discus fish from the Amazon river basin. Being flat allows them to encounter a smaller water resistance force as they swim and consequently they are much faster. Another huge advantage they get from this shape is that they are much less likely to bee seen by predators from certain angles because they are so thin on the flattened side. Some of these fish have even evolved to have both of their eyes on only of of their body sides. This is mostly encountered in bottom dwelling fish species because having an eye on the side which faces the bottom is of no help at all, and having both eyes facing the water above is much more helpful in both spotting potential food and predators. The largest flat fish in the world is believed to be the moon fish which can reach diameters of several meters and which can weigh more than a ton. Many species of flat fish, especially those living in topical waters have very colored bodies. This helps them both to confuse predators and to attract mates.