The species is found widely in relatively shallow waters in the Indo-Pacific, also ranging into warmer parts of the East Pacific.

As suggested by the family name, lefteye flounders have both eyes on top of the left hand side of their heads.

The eyes are raised up on short stumps like radar dishes, and can move in any direction independent of each other.

The baby flounders have one eye on each side of their bodies like ordinary fish, and swim like other fishes do, but later on, as they undergo maturation to adulthood, the right eye moves to the left side, and flounders start to swim sideways, which gives them the ability to settle down flat on the bottom.

For the next four to six months baby flounders float in the open ocean, sometimes hundreds of miles from the place the eggs were released and hatched.

When hunting or hiding from predators, the flounders bury themselves in the sand, leaving only the eyes protruding.