Both eyes are on the top of the flattened head, giving excellent binocular vision in order to attack overhead prey.

In contrast to flounder however, flathead are much more elongated, the tail remains vertical, and the mouth is large, wide and symmetrical.

[4] Typically a fish of estuaries and estuarine lakes, dusky flathead are rarely found in other habitats.

In the face of heavy fishing pressure and more effective techniques, a largely catch and release approach from anglers is essential nowadays to conserve dusky flathead.

Fishermen must release dusky flathead over 70 cm, with the reason that they are important large breeding females.

A study by Pollock (2014)[6] shows that the vast majority of eggs produced by the annual spawning aggregation come from the mid-size females (50 cm–60 cm), but more importantly the large females over 70 cm are often reproductively senescent—that is they have degenerate ovaries in which the eggs are breaking down or have broken down, and are not shed.