this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2024
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Science Memes

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Sea Creature Party (mander.xyz)
submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)

In the tree of life, flounders are a sub-sub-...-sub-species of bilaterally symmetrical animals: https://www.onezoom.org/life/@Holozoa=5246131?otthome=%40_ozid%3D1&highlight=path%3A%40Apionichthys_finis%3D3640785&highlight=path%3A%40Bilateria%3D117569#x2913,y-2310,w8.2796

Edit: let me preemptively be a pedant to myself and say that "sub-...-species" is wrong because "bilaterally symmetrical animals" is not a species. Flounder is itself a species AFAIK, not a sub-species of anything. It is a descendant of the common ancestor of all bilaterally symmetrical animals. There, now surely no one will find anything to be pedantic about :D

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I appreciate that information. However, flounders themselves are not bilaterally symmetrical. I have caught many dozens of them and it's pretty easy to tell that they are not.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Flounders are born symmetrical; eye migration happens as they transition to the juvenile stage of growth.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Isn't it referring to during development? Like as they're forming, they are bilateral? I haven't taken developmental biology in many years, so I'm maybe wrong.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

They are born (or hatch too lazy to look up) and their eyes move later once they get larger.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Yeah. I just wasn't sure at what point things are considered to be bilateral or otherwise.

I thought it may have been during the development process, but can't remember.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

They're only bilateral when they're very young. And even then, everyone is just focusing on the eyes. The body of the fish is also not exactly bilateral. Just fillet a flounder of any age (or watch a video on it) and you'll see.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Sorry, I'm talking about like when the fish first starts developing. Like how the initial cells orient themselves. I just have to look up what the definition actually is.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Oh, I know. It's very interesting. But when people imagine a flounder, they generally don't imagine a juvenile unless juvenile has been specified.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

Just like starfish!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Forego the illusion of species and families. It's taxa all the way down.