Teleostei (teleosts) >
Pleuronectiformes (Flatfishes) >
Pleuronectidae (Righteye flounders) > Pleuronectinae
Etymology: Pleuronectes: Greek, pleura = side, ribe + Greek, nekton = swimmer (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Linnaeus.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; demersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 200 m (Ref. 35388), usually 10 - 50 m (Ref. 35388). Temperate; 2°C - 15°C (Ref. 5504); 72°N - 36°N, 47°W - 45°E
Northern Sea. Reports from the Mediterranean Sea appear to be misidentifications of
P. flesus. It may have been present in some areas of the Mediterranean in the past, as a result of climatic changes related to the ice age, but at present times seem to be absent (Ref. 89040).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 32.7, range 24 - 42 cm
Max length : 100.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4705); common length : 40.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3397); max. published weight: 7.0 kg (Ref. 173); max. reported age: 50 years (Ref. 173)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 65 - 79; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 48 - 59. Smooth with small scales. Bony ridge behind the eyes. Upper side brown or greenish brown with irregularly distributed bright red or orange spots. The underside is white. Lateral line straight, slightly curved above pectoral fin. Dorsal fin reaching eye. More than 30 vertebrae.
Adults live on mixed bottoms, the older the deeper the occurrence; small individuals are usually seen on bathing beaches (Ref. 9988). Occurs on mud and sand bottom from a few meters down to about 100 m, at sea, estuaries and rarely entering freshwaters (Ref. 59043). Reported as resident intertidal species with homing behavior (Ref. 32612). Feed mainly on thin-shelled mollusks and polychaetes. Batch spawner (Ref. 51846). The most important flatfish for fisheries in Europe. Utilized fresh and frozen; eaten steamed, fried, boiled, microwaved and baked (Ref. 9988). Active at night in the very shallow water while day time is spent buried in the sand. Stationary for long periods, tagging experiments have shown that their spawning migrations can be long. Changes in the environmental conditions have been disadvantageous. Populations in Kattegat and Danish belts decreased in 1980's and early 1990's due to discharge of nutritive salts. Wadden sea is still an excellent nursery ground (Ref.35388).
Adult spawn when the temperature is around 6 °C (Ref. 4705).
Vinnikov, K.A., R.C. Thomson and T.A. Munroe, 2018. Revised classification of the righteye flounders (Teleostei: Pleuronectidae) based on multilocus phylogeny with complete taxon sampling. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, 125:147-162. (Ref. 122998)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: highly commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 6.8 - 12.4, mean 10.2 °C (based on 658 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.6250 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00776 (0.00684 - 0.00880), b=3.07 (3.03 - 3.11), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.3 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 9.2 (7.1 - 11.6) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 17
growth studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.06-0.34; tm=2-6; tmax=30; Fec=50,000).
Prior r = 0.50, 95% CL = 0.33 - 0.75, Based on 28 full stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): High to very high vulnerability (71 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref.
125649): Moderate vulnerability (43 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 25.4 [8.2, 51.7] mg/100g; Iron = 0.202 [0.084, 0.542] mg/100g; Protein = 17.3 [15.3, 19.8] %; Omega3 = 0.249 [0.118, 0.544] g/100g; Selenium = 29.6 [10.5, 80.9] μg/100g; VitaminA = 6.73 [1.77, 26.29] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.475 [0.263, 0.968] mg/100g (wet weight); based on
nutrient studies.
