Author: Linnaeus, 1758
Platichthys flesus Linnaeus, 1758
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Platichthys flesus (Linnaeus, 1758) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: often with the eyes on the left side (in certain areas one-third
of the population is reversed). Dorsal finrays 52-67; anal finrays 36-46.
Lateral line scales about 80. Colour: brownish, greyish or olivaceous, uniform or variously blotched and mottled with darker marks; faint red spots on the eyed side. Size: to 50 cm SL, but seldom more than 30 cm.
Habitat: at shallow depths with soft bottoms; often found in brackish water and in rivers and lakes. Food: small fishes and invertebrates. Reprocluction: spawns in February-June. In some areas, e.g. the western Baltic, it hybridizes with the plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) and the hybrids are very common. Commercial importance: mainly important to fisheries in Baltic and Danish waters.
Distribution: eastern Atlantic, from the White Sea to Mediterranean and Black Sea.
Subspecies
Platichthys flesus flesus. lower part of anterior gill arch with 9- 13 rakers. Post-ocular ridge ending in a rounded prominence. White Sea to western Mediterranean (Clofnam 197.8.1.1). Platichthys flesus luscus. lower part of anterior gill arch with 8 rakers. Post-ocuar ridge ending in a sharp prominence. Eastern Mediterranean, Black Sea (Clofnam 197.8.1.2 and 3, i.e. italicus a synonym of luscus).
Platichthys flesus luscus lower part of anterior gill arch with 8 rakers. Post-ocular ridge ending in a sharp prominence. Eastern Mediterranean, Black Sea (Clofnam 197.8.1.2 and 3, i.e. italicus a synonym of luscus).
Eggs, larvae and young stages. Carausu, 1952: 603 | Padoa, 1956: 837-838 | Bini, 1968, 8: 58.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.