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Solea solea  (Linnaeus, 1758)

Common sole
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Solea solea
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United Kingdom country information

Common names: Common sole, Dover sole, Lleden chwithig
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: minor commercial | Ref: FAO, 1992
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments:
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/uk.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Muus, B. and P. Dahlström, 1978
National Database:

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Pleuronectiformes (Flatfishes) > Soleidae (Soles)
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

欧洲鳎, Sole commune, Lenguado común, ... more

Main reference

Desoutter, M. 1992. (Ref. 7395)
 References | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 70.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4710); common length : 35.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5504); max. published weight: 3.0 kg (Ref. 5504); max. reported age: 26 years (Ref. 32766)

Length at first maturity
 Lm 30.3  range ? - ? cm

Environment

Marine; brackish; demersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 150 m (Ref. 35388), usually 10 - 60 m (Ref. 6302)

Climate / Range

Subtropical; 8°C - 24°C (Ref. 4944), preferred 16°C (Ref. 107945); 67°N - 17°N, 17°W - 37°E (Ref. 54889)

Distribution

Eastern Atlantic: southward from Trondheim Fjord (including North Sea and western Baltic) and Mediterranean Sea (including Sea of Marmara, Bosporus and southwestern Black Sea) (Ref. 4710). Elsewhere, southward to Senegal (Ref. 4710), including Cape Verde (Ref. 5304).
 Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 69-97; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 53 - 80; Vertebrae: 46 - 52. This species is distinguished by the following characters: body oval, flat and asymmetric; eyes located on right side of head, except in reversed individuals (Ref. 57416). Upper eye less than its own diameter from dorsal profile of head (Ref. 4710). Anterior nostril on blind side not enlarged (Ref. 4710, 57416), but surrounded by small rim (Ref. 57416). Its distance from front margin of head 1.5-1.9x in its distance from cleft of mouth; anterior nostril on eyed side with backward-pointing tube not or only barely reaching front border of lower eye (Ref. 4710). Preopercle covered by skin and opercle entirely scaled; mouth arched and inferior; dorsal and anal fins lacking spinous rays and united to caudal fin by well-developed membrane, but caudal peduncle distinct; dorsal fin originating on horizontal axis through upper eye; pectoral fin on eyed side asymmetrical, with 7-10 rays, and on blind side slightly shorter; straight part of lateral line visible, supratemporal part slightly arched above eyes; body covered with rectangular ctenoid scales (Ref. 57416).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults occur at a temperature range of 8.0-24.0°C (Ref. 4944). Usually solitary. They burrow into sandy and muddy bottoms. Retreat to deeper water during winter (Ref. 9988). Juveniles are found during the first 2 to 3 years in coastal nurseries (bays and nurseries) before migrating to deeper waters (Ref. 92286). Adults feed on worms, mollusks and small crustaceans at night. Waden sea is the most important nursery area. Batch spawner (Ref. 51846). Recruitment is very variable. Frequently found pelagically during spawning migrations (Ref. 35388). Marketed fresh and frozen; utilized steamed, fried, broiled, microwaved and baked (Ref. 9988).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

  Data deficient (DD) 

Threat to humans

  Harmless



Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums

Tools

Bio-Quiz | E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

BHL | Check for other websites | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO(Aquaculture: production; fisheries: production, species profile; publication : search) | FIRMS (Stock assessments) | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | National databases | Public aquariums | PubMed | Scirus | Sea Around Us | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | uBio RSS | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record | Fishtrace

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
 PD50 = 0.5020 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
 3.2   ±0.1 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
 Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.21-0.33; tm=3-5; tmax=26; Fec=100,000)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
 Moderate vulnerability (36 of 100)
Price category (Ref. 80766)
 Very high