American plaice

American plaice
American plaice, Hippoglossoides platessoides
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Pleuronectiformes
Family: Pleuronectidae
Genus: Hippoglossoides
Species: H. platessoides
Binomial name
Hippoglossoides platessoides
(O. Fabricius, 1780)

The American plaice or sole, Hippoglossoides platessoides, is a flatfish that belongs, along with other right-eyed flounders, to the Pleuronectidae family. American plaice are an Atlantic species.[1] Their range is from southern Labrador to Rhode Island. They spawn in the Gulf of Maine, with peak activity in April and May. They grow to a maximum length of 70 centimetres (28 in).[2] The species is considered by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization to be overfished, with no signs of recovery.[3] On the other hand, the Canadian government believes the species is abundant, and counts it as the second most caught flatfish, totalling 50% of the flatfish caught by Canadian fishermen.[4] A 1997 study reports that plaice are endangered in Canada due to overfishing.[5]

American plaice may be an intermediate host for the nematode parasite Otostrongylus circumlitis, which is a lungworm of seals, primarily affecting animals less than 1 yr of age.

References

  1. "Plaice." Grolier Encyclopedia of Knowledge, volume 15, copyright 1991. Grolier Inc., ISBN 0-7172-5300-7
  2. Dery, L.M. "American plaice, Hippoglossoides platessoides." Fishery Biology Program, Woods Hole Massachusetts Laboratory of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC).retrieved January 18, 2007
  3. Fishery Recent Assessment (2005 and 2006). Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization. retrieved January 18, 2007
  4. "American plaice." Underwater World. Fisheries and Oceans Canada. retrieved January 18, 2007
  5. Bergeron et al. 1997. Canadian Journal of Zoology 75: 1364–1371.
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