Black plaice
Pseudopleuronectes obscurus (Herzenstein, 1890)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Pseudopleuronectes obscurus, or dark flounder is a flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. It is a demersal fish that lives on salt bottoms in the temperate waters of the northwestern Pacific, from Hokkaido to the Kuril Islands, the Sea of Okhotsk, Sakhalin and the Tatar Strait to the northeastern coast of Korea and the Yellow Sea. It can grow up to 56 centimetres (22 in) in length, though it more commonly reaches around 35 centimetres (14 in), and its maximum recorded weight is 2.6 kilograms (5.7 lb).
Wikipedia contributors, Pseudopleuronectes obscurus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:56:54.001686+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pseudopleuronectes obscurus (Herzenstein, 1890)
- Name authority
- (Herzenstein, 1890)
- Common name
- Black plaice
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Pleuronectiformes
- Family
- Pleuronectidae
- Genus
- Pseudopleuronectes
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderPleuronectiformes
- suborderPleuronectoidei
- familyPleuronectidae Rafinesque, 1815
- subfamilyPleuronectinae Rafinesque, 1815
- genusPseudopleuronectes Bleeker, 1862
- speciesPseudopleuronectes obscurus (Herzenstein, 1890)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Pseudopleuronectes. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| black backsPseudopleuronectes americanus (Walbaum, 1792) | PleuronectidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Brown solePseudopleuronectes herzensteini (Jordan & Snyder, 1901) | PleuronectidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Marbled flounderPseudopleuronectes yokohamae (Günther, 1877) | PleuronectidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cresthead flounderPseudopleuronectes schrenki (Schmidt, 1904) | PleuronectidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Pleuronectes obscurus Herzenstein, 1890 Herzenstein, 1890 | synonym |
| Liopsetta obscurus (Herzenstein, 1890) (Herzenstein, 1890) | synonym |
| Liopsetta obscura (Herzenstein, 1890) (Herzenstein, 1890) | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=275358 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4P885. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.