Common sole
Scientific name: Solea solea (Linnaeus, 1758)
Overview
The common sole, Dover sole, or black sole 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.
From the Wikipedia article “Common sole”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2.
Common names
Also known in English as Black Sole, Dover sole, Parkgate Sole, River Sole, Sea Partridge, slip, sole, Southport Sole, Tounge, True Soul.
Names in other languages (10)
- Arabic
- سمكة موسى
- Chinese
- 鰨
- French
- sole, sole commune
- German
- Seezunge, Zunge
- Japanese
- ヨーロッパソール
- Persian
- حلوای دوور
- Portuguese
- linguado
- Russian
- morskoi yazyk, Европейская солея
- Spanish
- Lengua, lenguado, Lenguado Común, Lenguao
- Turkish
- Bayağı dil balığı, dil baligi
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: FishBase.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q27773, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Common sole”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026