Common sole

📖 Overview

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

🔬 Taxonomy

🐟 Physical 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 . Upper eye less than its own diameter from dorsal profile of head . Anterior nostril on blind side not enlarged , but surrounded by small rim . 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 . 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 . : short and / or deep; Cross section: flattened.

🌀 Behaviour

Behavioural data for Common sole is currently being reviewed.

🦐 Diet

The Dover sole feeds at night. Its diet consists of worms, molluscs and crustaceans.

🥚 Reproduction

Spawning takes place in shallow coastal waters at temperatures of 6 - 12°C. Reproduction starts after 3-5 years of age, when 25-30cm size is reached. Spawning happens mainly during the months of February-May (for example, off the coasts of Galicia), although in warmer areas (such as the Mediterranean), it can occur at the beginning of the winter. Incubation lasts about 5 days (at 1 2°) and larval phase 35 days (at 18°C).

🌍 Habitat & Distribution

Marine; brackish; demersal; oceanodromous ; depth range 0 - 150 m , usually 10 - 60 m . Subtropical; 8°C - 24°C ; 64°N - 14°N, 25°W - 38°E North Sea and western Baltic) and Mediterranean Sea (including Sea of Marmara, Bosporus and southwestern Black Sea) (Ref.

🌿 Ecology

📐 Morphometrics

🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance

🛡️ Conservation Assessment

📊 Population Risk & Fisheries

🎣 Angling Guide

📊 Population Dynamics

🐠 Related Species

🔍 Similar Species

🗺️ Global Occurrence Map

Occurrence records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) - 56 records indexed .

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