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European plaice

Pleuronectes platessa

European plaice — Pleuronectes platessa
  • Saltwater
  • Least Concern
Max length
95 cm
Classification
Class
Teleostei
Order
Pleuronectiformes
Family
Pleuronectidae
Genus
Pleuronectes
Distribution
  • Atlantic, Northeast
  • Atlantic, Northwest

About the european plaice

The European plaice (Pleuronectes platessa), commonly referred to as simply plaice, or schol in Dutch, is a species of marine flatfish in the genus Pleuronectes of the family Pleuronectidae.

Distribution

European plaice is a common flatfish which inhabits sandy and muddy bottoms of the European shelf, usually at depths between 10 and 200 m. It is found from the Barents Sea down to the Iberian peninsula and around Iceland and the Faroe Islands. It is often reported in ichthyological check lists for the Mediterranean Sea but this is likely to be misidentified specimens of European flounder.

Adult fish are generally found in deeper waters whereas young fish are found in shallow waters e.g. estuaries and sandy coasts. Plaice tend to burrow in the sediment during the day and remain stationary for long periods to avoid predators and ambush prey.

Behaviour

It is active at night and feeds on polychaetes, crustaceans and bivalves. Young plaice (between 1 and 2 years old) tend to consume mainly shrimps.

Description from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA.

Where the european plaice lives

Distribution data from GBIF (DOI: 10.15468/dl.8rzs8d).

Also known as

Where to catch european plaice

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