Cape Scaldfish
Arnoglossus capensis
Common Sole
Solea solea
About
The common sole spends its days lying almost buried in the seabed, so still that most divers swim straight past without noticing this flattened fish at all.
Also known as: Dover sole
- Length
- 35 cm · max 70 cm
- Weight
- max 3 kg
- Depth
- 10–60 m
How to tell it apart
Several flatfish species share this sandy habitat. Check which side its eyes sit on: the common sole carries both small eyes close together on the right side of its head, unlike left-eyed flatfish such as turbot and brill.
Appearance
This flatfish has an oval, flattened body with a greyish-brown upper side, often marked with broad, faint dark patches, and a plain white underside. Its snout is rounded and ends in a small fleshy lobe. It can grow up to 70cm long.
Habitat
It lives on sand or mud bottoms at depths of 10 to 60m, though it can be found down to 150m. It burrows into the sediment and is found across the eastern Atlantic from Norway to Senegal, and through most of the Mediterranean Sea.
Is it dangerous?
harmless
Did you know?
A blood-feeding leech called Hemibdella soleae often lives on this fish. Its larvae settle on the sole's exposed upper surface, then later crawl around to the underside and attach with suckers to feed.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
