Posted by Chris on September 08, 2004 at 17:30:40:
In Reply to: Unknown flatfish posted by jlyle on September 08, 2004 at 14:31:24:
The Guide to Northeast Pacific Flatfishes by Kramer, et. al. shows several pictures of a Fantail Sole (both left & right eye versions) that look just like the fish in your picture. The two spots and the shape of the pectoral fin is a perfect match. Milton Love's book also mentions that the long pectoral fin and spots are key characteristics of the Fantail Sole (aka longfin sole, true petrale).
The Eschmeyer book also mentions the long pectoral fin and twp spots as key characteristics of this species.
I believe the left/right characteristic is dominant for a particular species, but there are always exceptions. The percentage of exceptions varies species to species. Thus a single sample is not a definitive sample size.