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scythemantis — Flatfish Evolution
Published: 2013-01-17 17:49:42 +0000 UTC; Views: 5370; Favourites: 88; Downloads: 56
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Description
Just a quick, crappy cartoon doodle I made for this article: [link]Flatfish didn't evolve because they got jealous of stingrays or anything; the ray is there to demonstrate its more conventional "flatness."
Flatfish are related to more laterally (sideways) flattened fish, so they flipped onto their sides to hug the ground, one eye migrating to the opposite side of the skull.
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Comments: 17
That is terrific; really clearly explained with a bit of whimsy.
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Pokemon should definetly have a pokemon that evolves like this. It would be epic!
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Here's a link to the paper showing how it happened in the fossil record: [link]
Friedman, M. (2008) The evolutionary origin of flatfish asymmetry. Nature 454: 209-212 doi:10.1038/nature07108
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aw it didn't work! I've seen the fossil species showing only slight eye drift though
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Hmm, weird that link didn't work. Well, to make up for it, here's the figures from it: [link]
And a blog post from Ed Yong about it: [link]
And a blog post from Carl Zimmer: [link]
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I love the blue fish in the first panel. I can imagine him going "HARUMPH! I can do better!".
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Good that you explain things. It is noteworthy that the larval form of any creature is a semblance of the ancestral form from which it evolved into its present state. The larva of flatfish like the flounder looks like a conventional fish until it begins to mature and assume the unusual hyper-lateral presentation.
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Faving because I loved the article and it does seem as if the regular fish is flattening because it got jealous.
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I remember the first time I saw a flatfish, I was very amused. anyway lovely illustrations here :3
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I like how the fishes expression changes over time, particularly the look of evil triumph on the older, fully developed flatfish, as if it's saying to the manta-ray: "Hah, I can be flat too! Not so special now, are you?
Also, the happy sting-ray looks adorable.
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Fish that smoosh themselves against the sand would be harder to eat.
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Flatfish are so interesting, just the fact that their eyeball changes location as they age boggles my mind.
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I love the expression on the stingray. It's so jolly!
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