141540 Sole Solea solea Length to 50cm
Distinctive flatfish whose outline recalls a shoe sole. Found on sandy substrates on coasts and in estuaries. Adult lives with right side, and eyes, facing uppermost. Mouth is not terminal, upper pectoral fin has a black spot and skin is rough and patterned to look like sand and gravel. Anal fin has 61-74 rays, dorsal fin 65-78 rays. Black spot on upper pectoral fin is ‘flashed’ as fin is erected in alarm. This looks strikingly similar to ‘warning’ issued by Lesser Weever whose fin spines are venomous. Widespread and locally common in S half of Britain; scarce further north.
