The common dab (''Limanda limanda'') is an edible

flatfish A flatfish is a member of the Ray-finned fish, ray-finned demersal fish order (biology), order Pleuronectiformes, also called the Heterosomata, sometimes classified as a suborder of Perciformes. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the ...

of the family

Pleuronectidae Pleuronectidae, also known as righteye flounders, are a family of flounders. They are called "righteye flounders" because most species lie on the sea bottom on their left sides, with both eyes on their right sides. The Paralichthyidae are the op ...

. It is a

demersal The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer of ...

fish native to shallow seas around

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...

, in particular the North Sea, where it lives on sandy bottoms down to depths of about . It can reach in length and can weigh up to , though most specimens grow no longer than .

Taxonomy and nomenclature

The etymology of the name ''dab'' is unclear, but the modern English use seems to originate from the Middle English ''dabbe''. It is first recorded in the late 16th century. The common dab was first named ''Pleuronectes limanda'' by Carl Linnaeus in the 1758

10th edition 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

of ''

Systema Naturae ' (originally in Latin written ' with the ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the system, now known as binomial nomen ...

''. It has also been moved to other genera, including ''Liopsetta'', and is now known as ''Limanda limanda''.

Identification

The common dab has a similar appearance to both the plaice and the

flounder Flounders are a group of flatfish species. They are demersal fish, found at the bottom of oceans around the world; some species will also enter estuaries. Taxonomy The name "flounder" is used for several only distantly related species, thou ...

, and similarly has both its eyes normally on the right-hand side of its body. The upper surface is usually pale brown in colour with scattered darker blotches and speckles, but does not have the orange spots typical of a plaice. They are distinguished from flounder by their translucent body. The pectoral fins may be orange. The

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

is marked by a distinctive semi-circular curve above the pectoral fin. The dorsal and anal fins form a gently rounded curve round the margin of the body. The scales have rough posterior edges and this fish has no large bony projections. A typical size is in the range .

Diet

The common dab's diet consists of zoobenthos organisms such as marine worms,

mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

s, sand eels, amphipods, crustaceans, echinoderms and small pieces of fish.

Distribution

The common dab is a bottom dweller, found in coastal waters in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. Its range extends from the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

to Iceland and the White Sea and includes the North Sea and the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Commercial fishing

The dab is an abundant fish and until recently was mostly ignored as a commercial fish, with most dab only retained when they were caught as by-catch of other targeted species. However, the declining numbers of other food fish such as cod and haddock has seen dab become an increasingly important commercial species. They are now targeted by an increasing number of commercial vessels, especially in the North Sea. A number of high-profile celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver have attempted to get people to eat more dab in order to take the pressure off the species of commercial fish which are currently heavily exploited.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1135526 common dab common dab Fish of Europe Fish of the North Sea common dab