Flounder (rhornbosolea  retiaria )                                                              back     home

Flounder (flatfish) are normally found in the shallow waters of New Zealand only a foot or so deep down to around 25 metres or so.

During the summer they congregate in estuaries and brackish water, and during the winter most flounder wander into deeper, warmer and saltier water. Though sometimes you may come across them on beaches.

The flounder are very hard to see because they lie motionless on the bottom, generally covered by sand or mud, with only their eyes protruding. The eyes can be raised or lowered and moved independently. (Flounder have both eyes on one side of the body.)

Their body is flat, with scales in some species and absent in others. The body is coloured only on the exposed side and the other is normally much lighter, normally a whitish colour.

Flounder eat mainly small worms, shrimps, common mussels, very small fish and crabs. The older ones prefer mainly molluscs and fish, while the young prefer crustaceans.

Feeding is most intensive at night in shallow water, while during the day the flounder is dug into the sediment and resting.