Flounder's missing link
Now we know how the tasty flatfish got eyes on same side of head
Flonder
It's a strange, strange sea down there — four-legged fish, firefly squid, giant tube worms. But with both eyes on the same side of its head, the flounder ranks high as an oddity of the ocean.
The fish has puzzled science for years. As larvae, flounder have one eye on one side and one eye on the other. They swim straight up, like any normal, self-respecting fish. But as the larva develops, one of the eyes shifts to the other side and the fish turns to lie flat on its side. Everybody knows why — so it can stay camouflaged on the bottom and ambush prey.
But nobody could really say how the eyes got that way until Matt Friedman had to write a doctoral paper.
By the rules of evolution, flounder and other flatfish couldn't just suddenly have both eyes on one side of the head. A succession of creatures would have had to evolve the feature. But there were none, it seemed. It was the missing link in a very fine line of seafood.
"You do question how. It certainly is an oddity from a fish standpoint," said Denise Sanger, assistant research director of the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium.
The answer is even stranger.
"Imagine taking a normal fish skull and twisting it around so both eyes are on the same side," Friedman said. That's pretty much what happened.
Searching for a paper topic, Friedman, a graduate student at the University of Chicago, came across a series of photos of fossil fish and noticed that one of the them looked like a flounder, even though it wasn't considered a flatfish.
When he got a look at the skeleton on display, he did the archive-incorrect thing: He picked it up to look at it from the top down.
There was a space near the very top of the skull that could have held an eye.
"You've got one eye moving all the way up to the top of the head but not crossing over it," he said. The missing link. Those primitive fish had asymmetrical skulls, essentially twisted heads, that allowed the eye to gradually move.
It's like they were craning their heads up so much to find prey, the bones just started forming that way.
Also, Friedman found that some flatfish skulls were "left-eyed" and some were "right-eyed."
"As a project I thought it would be fun or something more exciting," Friedman said. Little did he know. His paper gets published today in Nature magazine.
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Comments
jeff61 (anonymous) says...
I always considered JohnQ and Majorjohnson to be the missing links.
July 10, 2008 at 7:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tammie (anonymous) says...
Jeff, be nice!
The way a flounder looked always fascinated me as a child. Kinda weird but hell, it tastes good with some tartar sauce and Texas Pete!
July 10, 2008 at 7:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
drp7773 (anonymous) says...
Wow yesterday a story about a bird that wont leave, today a fish that has to go left it's whole life, whats tomorrow..a woodpecker with no pecker :)
July 10, 2008 at 8:51 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oldglory (anonymous) says...
finally! the humor that i've missed this a.m.!
July 10, 2008 at 9:27 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
BigSargeofSC (anonymous) says...
Seems to me that the Flounder was disigned to be a NASCAR driver. Looking left, turning left. Wonder who his sponser would be? Gordons, perhaps?
July 10, 2008 at 10:33 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
grannyofsix (anonymous) says...
I got the coleslaw and baked beans wher's the fish
July 10, 2008 at 11:22 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tammie (anonymous) says...
Granny, what about the macaroni?
July 10, 2008 at 11:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
grannyofsix (anonymous) says...
macaroni with flounder? that would be better with catfish dont you think?
July 10, 2008 at 12:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tammie (anonymous) says...
Hell, I'm pregnant, food is food. Lol
July 10, 2008 at 12:17 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
eyfigueroa (anonymous) says...
You are all WRONG!!!!
fried fish = spanish rice = sangria
oops! AND texas pete pepper sauce
July 10, 2008 at 1:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
drp7773 (anonymous) says...
ewwwwwwwww this fish talk sounds crappy...ooops wrong fish, my bad :)
July 10, 2008 at 1:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tammie (anonymous) says...
Eyfig....I dont eat rice. *Le gasp!*
And you know dang well I can't drink right now! Lol
***Disclaimer-Yes, I am a Charleston native, born and raised here but I'd prefer potatoes or some type of pasta.***
July 10, 2008 at 1:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bkeelin (anonymous) says...
Yea, it strained it's neck so long it started giving birth to fish with strained necks. That is about as realistic as a NASCAR driver having a kid with both eyes on one side of his head. ONE fish skeleton with a hole in the top of it's head, and all of science claims evolution. Surely scientists have stricter standards for credible research than one skeleton? Perhaps it was a soft spot that eroded or the tip of a stick that the hunter used to catch it with? Who knows but the idea that an eye can move from one side of your head to the other and calling it a missing link is just laughable.
July 10, 2008 at 1:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Girleygirl (anonymous) says...
I got the grits with melted butter and cheese to go with my flounder.
You all are making me think of that little gas station/restaurant in Red Top. I might have to make a trip out there to get me some flounder and garlic fried crabs
July 10, 2008 at 4:23 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
walleyedwoman1215 (anonymous) says...
Fried flounder cries out for hushpuppies, coleslaw and the cheapest Chardonnay at the IGA!
*grunt, slurp, gulp, chew*
July 10, 2008 at 4:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
auger (anonymous) says...
A wedge of lemon is all you need unless you want to go the "fish & chips" route. Malt vinegar, a couple shakes of sea salt, and some tater wedges will make the tummy happy too!
July 10, 2008 at 7:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
auger (anonymous) says...
Ps. If you happen to be pregnant, the "fish & chips" route will cause the unborn to hold his/her own production of West Side Story...... Just a warning.
July 10, 2008 at 8:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tammie (anonymous) says...
Lmao @ auger! Thanks for the heads up!
July 11, 2008 at 7:22 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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