<i>Heteronectes</i> (head) (IMAGE)

Field Museum

<i>Heteronectes</i> (head)

Caption

These photographs of both sides of the adult head of a chemically prepared fossil of Heteronectes show that the fish has one eye on each side of the head, although they are not in the same position on the two sides. The fact that the eye has migrated somewhat and the skull is asymmetrical indicates that the evolution of asymmetry in flatfishes was gradual, not sudden as previously thought.

Credit

Image by M. Friedman, courtesy of The Field Museum.

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