Bony fish · Pleuronectiformes · Soleidae
Dover Sole
Solea solea
There is not enough information to assess its risk of extinction. See full glossary
Like all flatfish it hatches with an eye on each side of the head, then goes through a metamorphosis in which one eye migrates round to the other side of the body.
Weight
up to 3 kg
Size
up to 70 cm
Lifespan
26 years
Diet
Carnivore
Feeds mainly on other animals.
Activity
Nocturnal
Active mainly at night.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Unknown
Fun facts
- It eats small bottom-living invertebrates such as polychaetes, molluscs and crustaceans.
- It lives on sandy and muddy bottoms of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
- One fish reached a record of up to 40 years, according to some studies.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (fish)
- Habitat & environment
- Sandy and muddy bottoms of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, from southern Norway to Senegal
- Birth weight
- A symmetrical pelagic larva on hatching
- Size at birth
- A symmetrical pelagic larva on hatching
- Sexual maturity
- 4 years
- Litter / clutch size
- Numerous pelagic eggs released in open water
Sources consulted: ScienceDirect; FishBase; AnAge; Wiley
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapWhere to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 20 de 130 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Dover Sole — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Shortfin Mako
Isurus oxyrinchus
Porbeagle
Lamna nasus
VulnerableGrayfish
Alopias vulpinus
Near ThreatenedBlue Shark
Prionace glauca
Greenland Shark
Somniosus microcephalus
Thornback Ray
Raja clavata
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about dover sole.
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