northern rock sole
Lepidopsetta polyxystra Orr & Matarese, 2000
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
The northern rock sole (Lepidopsetta polyxystra) is a flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. It is a demersal fish that lives on sand, mud and gravel bottoms at depths of up to 700 metres (2,300 ft), though it is most commonly found between 19 and 246 metres (62 and 807 ft). Its native habitat is the temperate waters of the northern Pacific, from Puget Sound to Alaska (overlapping the range of the rock sole), the Aleutian Islands and across the Bering Sea to the Kuril Islands and the Sea of Okhotsk (overlapping the range of the dusky sole). Males grow up to 69 centimetres (27 in) in length, whilst females can reach 49 centimetres (19 in). The maximum recorded lifespan is 18 years.
Wikipedia contributors, Northern rock sole; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:15:58.801388+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Lepidopsetta polyxystra Orr & Matarese, 2000
- Name authority
- Orr & Matarese, 2000
- Common name
- northern rock sole
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Pleuronectiformes
- Family
- Pleuronectidae
- Genus
- Lepidopsetta
- 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
- genusLepidopsetta Gill, 1862
- speciesLepidopsetta polyxystra Orr & Matarese, 2000
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Lepidopsetta. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Dusky soleLepidopsetta mochigarei Snyder, 1911 | PleuronectidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- Orr, J. W., & Matarese, A. C. (2000). Revision of the genus Lepidopsetta Gill, 1862 (Teleostei: Pleuronectidae) based on larval and adult morphology, with a description of a new species from the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. Fish. Bull., 98: 539–582. 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:6PBSW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.