Author: Chabanaud, 1927
Solea aegyptiaca Chabanaud, 1927
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Solea aegyptiaca Chabanaud, 1927 (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: body oval. Upper eye less than its own diameter from dorsal profile of head. Anterior nostril on blind side not enlarged, its distance from front margin of head 1.5-1.9 times in its distance from cleft of mouth; anterior nostril on eyed side with a backward-pointing tube not reaching front border of lower eye. Dorsal fin beginning on upper profile of head, with 62-87 finrays; pectoral fin on eyed side with 7-9 finrays, on blind side only a little shorter; anal finrays 51-72; caudal fin joined to last dorsal and anal finrays by a poorly developed membrane. Lateral line with 106-150 pored scales, the supra-temporal branch forming a smoothly rounded curve. Vertebrae 39-44. Colour: eyed side brownish-grey, with large and diffuse dark spots; pectoral fin on eyed side with a black blotch more or less reaching to tip of fin. Size: to at least 25 cm SL.
Habitat: demersal on mud and sand in littoral waters and in brackish lagoons. Food: mainly cnidaria, polychaete worms and bivalve molluscs. Reproduction: spawning takes place in late autumn and winter (African coasts of the Mediterranean seas).
Distribution: Mediterranean (Tunisia to Lebanon, Adriatic, Gulf of Lions). Elsewhere, Suez Canal.