Flatfish are among the most common species encountered by the shore angler. Despite them being regular catches confusion still exists when trying to identify dab, flounder and plaice. This guide …
Flatfish
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The sole is an oval shaped flatfish with a small head and a small offset mouth. The dorsal and anal fins are joined to the tail by a thin membrane.
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The plaice is a typical round bodied, right eyed flatfish. The upper side is a sandy brown with prominent red or orange spots. The underside is a pearlescent white.
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The megrim is a thin bodied, left eyed flatfish with a large extendable mouth and large eyes. The last two rays of the dorsal and anal fins finish on the …
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The flounder is a flatfish and normally a dull brown or greenish-brown on its upper side and occasionally faint red spots can be found. The underside is opaque and a …
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The dab belongs to the family of flatfish called Pleuronectidae which are all right-eyed flatfish, the eye migrates over the head when young and finishes on the right hand side …
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The turbot is a wide bodied flatfish with the eyes on the left side of its head. The body is without scales but there are boney tubercles on it although …
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The brill is a close relative of the turbot which it resembles however its body is scaled and lacks the boney protuberances. The first rays of the dorsal fin are …
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The long rough dab is a slender bodied, right sided flatfish. The eyes and mouth are relatively large compared to the smallish head.
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The lemon sole has an oval shaped body that is sandy brown in colour with darker brown blotches and yellow and green spots on the back, the underside is white.