Author: Kaup, 1858
Solea senegalensis Kaup, 1858
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Solea senegalensis Kaup, 1858 (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 2.0-2.5 times in its distance from cleft of mouth; anterior nostril on eyed side with a backward-pointing tube not reaching to front border of lower eye. Dorsal fin beginning on upper profile of head, before anterior side of upper eye, with 72-95 finrays; pectoral fin on eyed side with 8-12 finrays, on blind side with 8-10 finrays; anal finrays 61-75; caudal fin separate from last dorsal and anal finrays. Lateral line with 120-138 pored scales, the supra-temporal branch forming a smoothly rounded curve. Vertebrae 43-46. Colour: eyed side greyish-brown, with numerous small blue spots in life (tending to disappear on death); pectoral fin on eyed side with an almost black membrane and light yellowish-white finrays; caudal fin uniformly coloured. Size: to 60 cm SL.
Habitat: demersal on sand and mud from brackish lagoons and shallow waters, from the shore to 100 m. Food: wide range of small benthic invertebrates, mainly polychaetes and bivalve molluscs but also chironomid larvae and small crustaceans. Reproduction: spawns May-August with a peak in June (Iberian Peninsula, Bay of Biscay).
Distribution: eastern Atlantic (Bay of Biscay southward) and Mediterranean (rare). Elsewhere, southward to Senegal.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. No data.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.