Pete circled around and hovered next to my side as I sheepishly pointed at what looked like an empty patch of sand.Ībout the time that I found myself wishing that Pete had never seen me stop, I saw another very slight movement. I stopped and stared down at the sand, but saw nothing. We were only a few feet over the sandy bottom when something caught my eye. If you have a question about the weird and wild animal world, tweet me, leave me a note or photo in the comments below, or find me on Facebook.My buddy Pete and I were hustling along, trying to get across the “barren” sand flat so we could explore the kelp forest. Weird Animal Question of the Week answers your questions every Saturday. ( Watch a time-lapse video of the flatfish's amazing transformation.)Īdolescent flounder hate it when you show those pics of their awkward teenage days. The flatfish’s bones are pretty pliable at this point, like the soft spot on an infant’s skull, so “as the eye moves, the bones in the head warp in that direction,” Burgess says.Īn additional bone, found only in flatfish, develops right under the migrating eye, giving them that goofy asymmetrical look. ( Read about an early flatfish whose eye hadn't quite finished migrating.) This also requires the bones in their heads to move. They start out looking like regular fish, kind of diamond shaped, and “as larvae, the eyes are in regular position on each side,” Burgess says.Īs they develop “the eye begins to migrate, moving over the top of the head, eventually settling on one side or the other,” Burgess says. Unauthorized use is prohibited.įlatfishes don’t start out flat.
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