Olive Flounder Identification Guide
Recognize olive flounder by its large tooth-lined mouth, elongated body, and olive-brown blotched back.
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Key identification features
- Left-eyed flatfish with an elongated, oval body
- Olive-brown to dark gray back marked with irregular darker blotches and small pale spots
- Large mouth that extends well past the eye, lined with sharp teeth
- Blind (white) side occasionally shows scattered dark pigment patches
- Grows to about 3 feet
Common look-alikes
- Marbled sole has a much smaller, less toothy mouth and a finer marbled pattern than the bold blotches on an olive flounder.
- Stone flounder shows rougher scales on its blind side along with dark blotches, a texture olive flounder lacks.
- Bastard halibut, a regional name applied to this same species, is sometimes confused with true halibuts, which are deeper-bodied and lack the large fanged mouth.
Where you'll see one
Olive flounder inhabit sandy and muddy coastal bottoms across the northwestern Pacific, including the waters off Japan, Korea, and China, ranging from shallow bays out to roughly 500 feet, where their large mouth suits an active, predatory lifestyle.
Frequently asked questions
How do I tell olive flounder from marbled sole?
Olive flounder has a much larger, tooth-lined mouth reaching past the eye, while marbled sole has a small, weak mouth without prominent teeth.
What is the clearest field mark for identifying an olive flounder?
Look for the combination of an elongated olive-brown body with irregular blotches and an oversized mouth armed with visible sharp teeth.