Flatfish are strange looking animals that live sideways. One of their eyes has migrated to one side of the fish so that when it lies on its "side" at the bottom of the ocean both eyes point upwards. This is an interesting example of the evolution of a change in development.Fossil relatives of modern flatfish have recently been described and they confirm much of what was surmised about the evolution of these strange creatures. Several bloggers have written about this and it's well worth the effort to read their postings.
Christopher Taylor at Catalogue of Organisms wrote The Ugly Stick in Action.
Ed Yong at Not Exactly Rocket Science wrote 'Missing link' flatfish has eye that's moved halfway across its head.
GrrlScientist at Living the Scientific Life wrote The Mysterious Origin of the Wandering Eye.
Carl Zimmer at The Loom wrote Dawn of the Picasso Fish.
[Image Credit: The drawings are by Georgi Pchelarov from The Classification of Fishes.]
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