Species Hierarchy
Kingdom ANIMAL (ANIMALIA)
Phylum BACKBONED ANIMALS (CHORDATA)
Class FISH - BONEY (TELEOSTOMI)
Order FISH - FLATFISH (PLEURONECTIFORMES)
Family FISH - RIGHT EYED FLOUNDERS (PLEURONECTIDAE)
Common name: FLOUNDER - STARRY
Scentific name: PLATICHTHYS STELLATUS

ON SAND - AQUARUIM VIEW
Location: SEATTLE AQUARIUM, WASHINGTON, USA

Species Info:

This lifeform is found in the northern Pacific Ocean (Aleutian Islands, etc.). This lifeform is marine and found only in salt water. Parts of this lifeform are edible.

Starry Flounder (Platichthys stellatus) is found from the Bering Sea south to Korea and Japan, and south to Alaska, Washington, and Oregon and occasionally as far south as Santa Barbara, California. It technically belongs in the right eye flounder family but most examples have the eyes on the left side of the head. This flounder is found from shallow water to depths of to 800 feet or more. It can be up to three feet long and weigh up to 20 pounds. It is considered a good eating fish.

Flatfish Group, Order Pleuronectiformes, are a group of primarily marine fish that undergo some unusual changes in body shape as the fish leave the juvenile state. One of the eyes moves around to one side, and the fish have a superficial resemblance to rays and skates in that they are flat and can live on the bottom.

Bony fish, Class Teleostomi, are a class of chordates that  include the majority of fish-like animals found on earth. They  are characterized by a bony jaw and a bony skeleton. They are  found in both fresh and marine waters.

Backboned Animals (Phylum Chordata) are the most advanced group of animals on earth. These animals are characterized by having a spinal cord or backbone. Most members have a clearly defined brain that controls the organism through a spinal cord. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are in this phylum.

Currently, some taxonomists believe that the fish should be divided into two groups (sharks and regular fishes) and that there are some other primitive groups in the phylum such as hagfish or lampreys.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

 

Search Region:
World
Species Range:
Click to enlarge
Photos
(Click on an image below to display at left)

ON SAND - AQUARUIM VIEW

 


Quick Jump:
Click to jump to
BARRACUDA - GREAT
SPHYRAENA BARRACUDA
Backward 10 species
Click to jump to
SOLE - ROCK
LEPIDOPSETTA BILINEATA
Backward 1 species
Click to jump to
PLEURONECTES PLATESSA
Forward 1 species
Click to jump to
FILEFISH
ALEUTERA SCRIPTA
Forward 10 species