The back, which may vary in overall color from light brown to dark gray, is marked with four large and quite conspicuous black "eye-like" spots edged with a much lighter color, two of them situated at each margin of the body.

Adults are predatory and mostly piscivorous, preying on any small fish such as sand lance and Atlantic silverside, as well as squid.

A range in the western Atlantic from the Gulf of Maine, and perhaps as far north as Nova Scotia, south to Florida, preferring water depths of at least 12 fathoms and as far out as to the continental shelf.

Due to its small size and lack of abundance inshore it is not prized or even well known by recreational anglers who may often mistake this flounder for its relative the Summer Flounder Paralichthys dentatus, as it shares a similar offshore range, appearance, and feeding habits.

In addition to the obvious four spots and more translucent underside, the fourspot flounder can also be identified from the Summer Flounder by its slightly more elongated shape and proportionately larger eyes.