---
title: Righteye flounders
scientific_name: 
common_name: Righteye flounders
published: 2024-11-19T18:41:51.573Z
updated: 2026-08-03T21:39:58.116Z
tags: Righteye flounders, Red Sea, Marine Life, Diving
url: https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/righteye-flounders
---

# Righteye flounders

## Quick facts

- **Body shape:** Flattened - Pressed flat top-to-bottom, lies on the bottom - rays, flounders, crocodilefishes.
- **Species listed here:** 2

## How to recognise this group

- flattened body, oval to diamond-shaped
- both eyes located on right side of head
- resting flat on sandy or silty bottom
- cryptic, camouflaged body patterns

Righteye flounders lie on their left side with both eyes on the right of the head, the mirror image of the lefteye group. The two species here sit at opposite ends of the flatfish range. The cockatoo flounder is a small, delicate fish whose first dorsal rays stand up as a crest and are held clear of the sand. The Indian halibut is the opposite: thick-bodied, up to 64 cm, with spiny rays in front of the dorsal fin and a large mouth for taking fish at night. It is also the most primitive flatfish of the three groups - its eye migration stops short, leaving the second eye on the edge of the head rather than beside the first, and individuals can end up facing either way.


## Species (2)

- [Cockatoo Flounder (Samaris cristatus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/righteye-flounders/cockatoo-flounder)
- [Indian Halibut (Psettodes erumei)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/righteye-flounders/indian-halibut)

---

*Source: [Red Sea Creatures](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/righteye-flounders)*
*Updated: August 3, 2026*