California halibut
Paralichthys californicus (Ayres, 1859)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The California halibut or California flounder (Paralichthys californicus) is a large-tooth flounder native to the waters of the Pacific Coast of North America from the Quillayute River in Washington to Magdalena Bay in Baja California Sur.
This is a demersal fish, living primarily in the lower water column as adults. They inhabit near shore regions and are free swimming. This is an unusual fish in that one eye migrates around from one side to the other as it grows from an upright fry or baby fish into an adult fish that lies on its side. This results in the adult fish having two eyes on the up-side as it lies on the ocean floor. Most flatfish are generally either right-eyed or left-eyed dominant, but the California halibut is unusual in having a roughly even number of each type.
Like other flatfish, the halibut hides under sand or loose gravel, camouflaging into the sea floor. They are aggressive predators, using this camouflage to effectively ambush prey such as fishes and invertebrates.
Wikipedia contributors, California halibut; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:23:50.419923+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Paralichthys californicus (Ayres, 1859)
- Name authority
- (Ayres, 1859)
- Common name
- California halibut
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Pleuronectiformes
- Family
- Paralichthyidae
- Genus
- Paralichthys
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderPleuronectiformes
- suborderPleuronectoidei
- familyParalichthyidae Regan, 1910
- genusParalichthys Girard, 1858
- speciesParalichthys californicus (Ayres, 1859)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Paralichthys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Paralichthys adspersus (Steindachner, 1867) | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gulf flounderParalichthys albigutta Jordan & Gilbert, 1882 | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Paralichthys brasiliensis (Ranzani, 1842) | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Paralichthys delfini Pequeño & Plaza, 1987 | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| northern flukeParalichthys dentatus (Linnaeus, 1766) | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Paralichthys isosceles Jordan, 1891 | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| southern flounderParalichthys lethostigma Jordan & Gilbert, 1884 | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Paralichthys microps (Günther, 1881) | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Paralichthys patagonicus Jordan, 1889 | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| broad flounderParalichthys squamilentus Jordan & Gilbert, 1882 | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Paralichthys triocellatus Miranda Ribeiro, 1903 | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Paralichthys tropicus Ginsburg, 1933 | ParalichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Hippoglossus californicus Ayres, 1859 Ayres, 1859 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=275809 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4CYVD. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.