Named By: | Eastman in 1914 |
Time Period: | Middle Eocene |
Location: | Europe and Asia |
Size: | About 10 centimetres long |
Diet: | Carnivore |
Fossil(s): | Several specimens |
Classification: | | Chordata | Actinopterygii | Pleuronectiformes | Bothidae | |
Eobothus ('Dawn flounder') is an extinct genus of flatfish from the Eocene period of China, India and Europe.
Eobothus is significant as one of the earliest genera of flatfish, one of the last major fish groups to evolve. It closely resembled modern flatfish, with an oval-shaped body about 10 centimetres (4 in) long, surrounded by elongated dorsal and anal fins. In the adult, the eyes were both located on the left side of the head, as in modern species, and the fish would have lain flat against the seafloor on its right side. This was an evolutionary advance from still earlier flatfish, such as Heteronectes, in which the eyes only partially migrated.