Peacock Flounder!

Описание: Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode on Sea More with Curby. This week we are talking about the peacock flounder, bothus lunatus, also known as the plate fish. You can find this species in the Caribbean, Bahamas, Florida, Bermuda, and even as far south as Brazil. They are found mostly in sandy areas and are considered a benthic organism because they spend most of their lives on the ocean floor. They are diurnal which means they are most active during the day. They are considered a lie-in-wait ambush predator, where they wait for their prey and attack when the prey gets close. They feed on small fishes but can also eat small crustaceans and octopus. What's really interesting about flounder is that when they are juveniles, they look more like a typical fish with one eye on either side. But as they grow into adulthood, one of the eyes shifts to the same side as the other. This species is part of a group known as the left-eye flounder because the eye on the right side eventually shifts to the left, leaving the right side of the fish to be on the seafloor. What's also really cool about the peacock flounder is that it uses camouflage to blend into their background, and this species can camouflage very quickly, taking between 2 and 8 seconds! This type of background adaptation can be seen in many fishes such as parrotfish, scorpionfish, goatfish, octopus, and others. Since this species can see really well with the eyes facing upward, they use their eyes to see the background and attempt to camouflage to it. But, if one of the eyes are damaged, the flounder will have a hard time blending in with the surroundings, ultimately leaving it vulnerable to predators.