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| fishes text index | photo index |
| Phylum Chordata > Subphylum Vertebrate > fishes > Order Pleuronectiformes |
| Large-tooth
flounders Family Paralichthyidae updated Aug 10
Where seen? These large flatfishes are seen on some of our shores, on sandy areas near seagrasses or near coral reefs. What are large-tooth flounders? Large-tooth flounders are flatfishes belonging to the Family Paralichthyidae (they were previously placed in Family Bothidae). According to FishBase: the family has 16 genera and 86 species. They are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. Features: Grows to about 40cm long, those seen about 15-20cm. Body flat but typical fish-shaped. The head is large with bulbous eyes, both on the left side. The tail fin is well separated from the dorsal and anal fins. The tail fin is somewhat pointed over the middle portion. Has a fully developed lateral line on the blind side as well as the eyed side. The lateral line on the eyed side makes a distinctive curve over the pectoral fin. The mouth is large, filled with teeth and many have enlarged canine teeth. The eyed side is usually speckled with spots of various sizes and matches the colour of its sandy surroundings. Sometimes confused with other flatfishes. The Oriental sole (Brachirus orientalis) looks very similar but it is right-eyed. Here's more on how to tell apart the flatfish families commonly seen. What do they eat? Large-tooth flounders hunt animals and fishes living on the bottom of the sea. They can swim quickly and are active during the day. Human uses: Some larger species are considered excellent to eat and are economically important. Status and threats: Our Large-tooth flounders are not listed as among the threatened animals of Singapore. However, like other creatures of the intertidal zone, they are affected by human activities such as reclamation and pollution. Over-fishing can also affect local populations. |
 Pulau Semakau, Sep 05  Eyes on the left side. Large mouth with canine teeth.  Tail fin is separate from the dorsal and anal fins. |
Eyes on the left side of the body only.
 Pelvic fin. |
 Some species have a white patch under the pectoral fin. |
Large-tooth flounders on Singapore shores
 Changi, Jul 06 |
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 Changi, Jul 08 |
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more photos of large-tooth flounders on Singapore shore
northern shores | southern shores
On this website, they are grouped by large external features for convenience of display.
| Family
Paralichthyidae recorded for Singapore from Wee Y.C. and Peter K. L. Ng. 1994. A First Look at Biodiversity in Singapore.
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Links
References
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Periplus Editions. 292 pp.|
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