---
title: "Starry Flounder"
description: "Platichthys stellatus — Vissen. The starry flounder (Platichthys stellatus), also known as the grindstone, emery wheel and long-nosed flounder, is a common flatfish found around the margins of the North Pacific."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/starry-flounder
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Starry Flounder

> Platichthys stellatus — Vissen. The starry flounder (Platichthys stellatus), also known as the grindstone, emery wheel and long-nosed flounder, is a common flatfish found around the margins of the North Pacific.

- Scientific name: *Platichthys stellatus*
- Category: `fish` (Vissen)
- Habitats: `sea` (Zee en kust)
- iNaturalist observations: 1660
- Wikidata: [Q166833](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q166833)
- iNaturalist taxon: [83170](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/83170)

## Names

- en: Starry Flounder
- de: Sternflunder
- fr: Flet étoilé

## Countries with the most observations

US (741), CA (484), RU (53), CN (14), JP (9), KR (3)

## Summary

The starry flounder (Platichthys stellatus), also known as the grindstone, emery wheel and long-nosed flounder, is a common flatfish found around the margins of the North Pacific.
The distinctive features of the starry flounder include the combination of black and white-to-orange bar on the dorsal and anal fins, as well as the skin covered with scales modified into tiny star-shaped plates or tubercles (thus both the common name and species epithet), resulting in a rough feel. The eyed side is black to dark brown, while the lower side is white or cream-colored. Although classed as "righteye flounders," individuals…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starry_flounder

## Photo

![Starry Flounder](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/starry-flounder/medium.jpg)

Photo: Svetlana Polevova · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/235311139

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/starry-flounder?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).