{{Short description|Family of fishes}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Lefteye flounders | fossil_range = {{fossil range|Early Oligocene|present}} | image = Arnoglossus laterna 2.jpg | image_caption = Scaldfish, ''Arnoglossus laterna'' | taxon = Bothidae | authority = Smitt, 1892 | type_genus = ''Bothus'' | type_genus_authority = Rafinesque, 1810 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = See text }}
'''Bothidae''' or '''lefteye flounders''' are a family of flounders. They are called "lefteye flounders" because most species lie on the sea bottom on their right sides, with both eyes on their left sides.<ref name="fishbase">{{FishBase family | family = Bothidae | month = February | year = 2006}}</ref> The family is also distinguished by the presence of spines on the snout and near the eyes.<ref name=EoF>{{cite book |editor=Paxton, J.R. |editor2=Eschmeyer, W.N.|author1=Chapleau, Francois |author2=Amaoka, Kunio |name-list-style=amp|year=1998|title=Encyclopedia of Fishes|publisher= Academic Press|location=San Diego|pages= 224–225|isbn= 0-12-547665-5}}</ref>
Lefteye flounders vary considerably in size between the more than 160 species, ranging from {{convert|4.5|cm|in|abbr=on}} to {{convert|1.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} in length.<ref name=EoF/>
== Taxonomy == The following genera are placed in this family:
* ''Arnoglossus'' * ''Asterorhombus'' * ''Bothus'' * ''Chascanopsetta'' * ''Crossorhombus'' * ''Engyprosopon'' * ''Japonolaeops'' * ''Kamoharaia'' * ''Laeops'' * ''Lophonectes'' * ''Neolaeops'' * ''Parabothus'' * ''Psettina'' * ''Tosarhombus''
The following fossil genera are also known:
* †''Miobothus'' <small>Chanet & Schultz, 1994</small> (Middle Miocene of Austria)<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chanet |first1=Bruno |last2=Schultz |first2=Orwin |date=1994 |title=Pleuronectiform fishes from the Upper Badenian (Middle Miocene) of St. Margarethen (Austria) |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230844383 |journal=Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien |issue=96 |pages=95–115}}</ref> * †''Oligobothus'' <small>Baciu & Chanet, 2002</small> (Early Oligocene of Romania and Poland)<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Campbell |first1=Matthew A. |last2=Chanet |first2=Bruno |last3=Chen |first3=Jhen-Nien |last4=Lee |first4=Mao-Ying |last5=Chen |first5=Wei-Jen |date=2019 |title=Origins and relationships of the Pleuronectoidei: Molecular and morphological analysis of living and fossil taxa |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/zsc.12372 |journal=Zoologica Scripta |language=en |volume=48 |issue=5 |pages=640–656 |doi=10.1111/zsc.12372 |issn=1463-6409}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kovalchuk |first1=Oleksandr |last2=Bienkowska-Wasiluk |first2=Małgorzata |last3=Dubikovska |first3=Anastasiia |last4=Świdnicka |first4=Ewa |last5=Stefaniak |first5=Krzysztof |last6=Khekalo |first6=Olga |last7=Barkaszi |first7=Zoltán |title=Oligocene flatfishes (Teleostei, Pleuronectiformes) of the Outer Carpathian Basin |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2025.2520490 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |date=2025 |volume=0 |article-number=e2520490 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2025.2520490 |issn=0272-4634|url-access=subscription }}</ref> * †''Oranobothus'' <small>Chanet, 1996</small> (latest Miocene of Algeria)<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1996 |title=Oranobothus arambourgi n.g. n.sp.(Pisces, Pleuronectiformes, Bothidae) provenant du Messinien (Miocène supérieur) d'Oran (Algérie) |url=https://sciencepress.mnhn.fr/en/periodiques/bulletin-du-museum-national-d-histoire-naturelle-4eme-serie-section-c-sciences-de-la-terre-paleontologie-geologie-mineralogie/18/4/oranobothus-arambourgi-ng-nsppisces-pleuronectiformes-bothidae-provenant-du-messinien-miocene-superieur-d-oran |journal=Bulletin du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, 4ème série – section C – Sciences de la Terre, Paléontologie, Géologie, Minéralogie |language=en |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=555–568}}</ref> In 2025, a number of bothid genera were moved to their own families Monolenidae, Grammatobothidae, and Taeniopsettidae, after phylogenetic analyses noted the taxonomic complexity of this family. Many other genera within this family are likely paraphyletic.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Tongboonkua |first1=Pakorn |last2=Chanet |first2=Bruno |last3=Chen |first3=Wei-Jen |date=2025 |title=Integrated Molecular and Morphological Analyses Resolve Long-Standing Classification Challenges in the Sinistral Flatfish Family Bothidae (Teleostei: Carangiformes) |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/zsc.70020 |journal=Zoologica Scripta |language=en |volume=n/a |issue=n/a |doi=10.1111/zsc.70020 |issn=1463-6409 |url-access=subscription |article-number=zsc.70020}}</ref>
== Gallery == <gallery> File:Arnoglossus laterna larva.jpg|Scaldfish (''Arnoglossus laterna'') larva File:Bothus podas.jpg|Wide-eyed flounder, ''Bothus podas'' File:Laeops macrophthalmus.jpg|''Laeops macrophthalmus'' </gallery>
== See also == * Pleuronectidae, the righteye family of flounders
== References == {{Reflist|32em}}
{{flatfish}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q838524}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Bothidae Category:Marine fish families Category:Taxa named by Albert Günther Category:Carangiformes families Category:Flatfish