|Range: West coast from
Northern California to Alaska
|Habitat: shallow sandy
|Diet in the wild: Small
starry flounders eat mostly crustaceans. Larger ones eat crabs, clams and
sand dollars. They sometimes also eat other fish such as sardines and
|Diet in the zoo: Mostly
shrimp, squid and small fish.
Description: The body of the Starry Flounder is broad, diamond-shapped
and relatively short. The head is also short with small eyes and
mouth. The Starry Flounders are dark brown with a lightly colored
underside. The flounder's coloring makes it easy to camouflage
Information: The Starry Flounders are found in the Pacific Ocean from
San Francisco, California to Arctic Alaska. They can also be found in the
Sea of Japan. Although they are primarily a saltwater fish, some have
been found in freshwater. Starry Flounders are also part of the right
eyed flounder families; however the majority of Starry Flounders are left
eyed. All flounders, including the Starry Flounders undergo metamorphosis
in which the larva is changed into a very small flounder-shaped fish.
What makes this metamorphosis process most interesting is the migration of one
of the eyes from one side of the body to the other. Eventually, both eyes
end up on the dorsal side of the fish.
physiological or behavioral adaptations:
All Starry Flounders have
pigment cells that allow them to alter their coloring to suit their
bottom dwelling life styles. This makes them "invisible" to
both predator and prey along with burrowing into the sand and mud. The up
and down (lateral) motion of the tail provides several advantages for the
Starry Flounder. One of those advantages is that it enables the fish to
throw sand up over it to cover its body. This also helps further
camouflage the Starry Flounder.
|Comments about the
Starry Flounder at the Fort Worth Zoo: The Starry Flounder at The
Fort Worth Zoo comes from the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The Starry
Flounder is approximately 18-20 inches long. It stays mostly hidden on
the bottom floor of the aquarium.
Observations:The Starry Flounder at the Fort Worth Zoo is pretty shy.
It stays mostly hidden, so we nicknamed him "Ghosty." He hides
under the sand and sometimes behind the aquatic vegetation. If you can,
try to watch this fish during feeding time; it is truly an amazing
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