Dover sole
Solea solea (Linnaeus, 1758)
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.
Dover Sole from the Belgian coastal waters.
Hans Hillewaert · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The common sole, Dover sole, or black sole (Solea solea) is a species of flatfish in the family Soleidae. It is one of the largest fish in the Solea genus. It lives on the sandy or muddy seabed of the northern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea where it often partially immerses itself in the substrate. The upper side is greyish-brown while the underside is white. It grows to a maximum length of about 70 cm (28 in). The species is prized as a food fish, being caught mostly by bottom trawling on the seabed.
The name "Dover" comes from Dover, the English fishing port landing the most sole in the 19th century.
Wikipedia contributors, Common sole; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:52:45.932780+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Solea solea (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- Dover sole
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Pleuronectiformes
- Family
- Soleidae
- Genus
- Solea
- 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
- familySoleidae Bonaparte, 1833
- genusSolea Quensel, 1806
- speciesSolea solea (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Solea. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Solea capensis Gilchrist, 1902 | SoleidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Solea elongata Day, 1877 | SoleidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Solea ovata Richardson, 1846 | SoleidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Solea turbynei Gilchrist, 1904 | SoleidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Solea indica Günther, 1862 | SoleidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Egyptian soleSolea aegyptiaca Chabanaud, 1927 | SoleidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Solea stanalandi Randall & McCarthy, 1989 | SoleidaeChordata | 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 solea Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
| Solea vulgaris vulgaris Quensel, 1806 Quensel, 1806 | synonym |
| Solea vulgaris Quensel, 1806 Quensel, 1806 | 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=127160 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.
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:4Y5CH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.