Name: Brill, flounder, kite
Scientific Name: Scophthalmus rhombus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Family: Scophthalmidae
Group: Bony fish
Class: Fish
Size: 51-100 cm.
The brill is a flatfish whose body undergoes significant transformations until it acquires the typical appearance of this group of fish. As larva, it lives in the water column and has a symmetrical body, with one eye on each side. Afterwards, as it develops, the right eye migrates to the left side of the body, which undergoes an accentuated lateral compression, until it is flat. These modifications result in an extraordinary adaptation to life on the sea floor, where it remains half-buried in the sand, with the left side turned upwards. Here, perfectly camouflaged, it is able to see without being seen...
Photo by:
www.habitas.org.uk
Flat-fish
