Spectember 2026 #04: Flat Not-Fish

An illustration of a speculative vetulicolian, showing two individuals swimming above the seafloor. They're shaped vaguely like eyeless stingrays, with a single row of gill openings running along what appears to be their backs (but is actually their left sides), segmented horizontal fish-like tails, and camouflage coloration.

Xenoscapha rotatiolateralis is a late-surviving Late Cambrian vetulicolid, about 10cm long (~4″), that spends daylight hours resting on its side on the seafloor much like present-day flatfish — and this has resulted in a similarly asymmetrical “rotated” body plan. The right side of its body is flattened and now acts as its underside, while its left side is cryptically-colored and functions as the upper surface.

During the night it swims upwards to filter-feed on plankton, propelled by its paddle-like tail. Scattered spots in the left “upper” cuticle are light-sensitive, forming a simple distributed visual system similar to the aesthetes of chitons.

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