Southern flounder are left handed

Southern and summer flounder have both of their eyes on the left side of their body, making them “left-handed.”

Flatfish, which lurk on the bottom and have both of their eyes on one side of their head, are widely dispersed throughout the world’s saltwater environments, but they are not all the same.

There are huge ones like the halibut in Alaskan waters and small ones like the various winter flounder off New England. The ones caught in the Lowcountry are mostly southern and summer flounder and are “left-handed” — both of their eyes are on the left side of their body. The various winter flounder and halibut have both of their eyes on the right side of their bodies. In northeastern waters, the locals call their summer flounder “fluke” and southern anglers agree and call big ones  “doormats”.

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