C-O Sole

Pleuronichthys coenosus

C-O Sole

Pleuronichthys coenosus

Other Common Names
C-O turbot, mottled turbot, popeye sole, spot flounder

Sandy Coast

Other Common Names

C-O turbot, mottled turbot, popeye sole, spot flounder

At the Aquarium

Sandy Coast

Appearance

These fish come in a variety of colors and tend to have a large dark spot in the middle of their body. They are named for a C-O pattern on their tail. These sole have very large, bulbous eyes, and very small mouths. The rays on their dorsal fin start just below the left eye.

Habitat

These fish can be found over a variety of substrates, from estuaries, to nearshore waters out to the continental slope. They can be found at depths over 1,000 feet but are usually found in waters shallower than 66 feet.

Diet

Amphipods, worms, and clams.

Life History

The eggs of C-O soles are 0.05 inches to 0.06 inches across and have a hexagonal pattern on the shell. Larvae hatch at just 0.1 inches long and have heavy pigmentation. The larva may start undergoing metamorphosis when it reaches a length of 0.3 inches. C-O soles are right-eyed flatfish, so the left eye migrates to the right side of the head. Young fish will live in estuaries or on the open coast. Reaches a maximum length of 14 inches and can live past 6 years old.

IUCN Status

Least Concern

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

Predators of C-O soles include copper rockfish and bottlenose dolphins.

Alaska to southern Baja California, Mexico

C-O soles are occasionally caught recreationally from piers.

When hunting for worms, a C-O sole will swim up in the water column and then dive down headfirst into the sand.

Citations & Other Resources

IUCN redlist website: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/158632931/158638086#habitat-ecology
Love, Milton S. Certainly more than you want to know about the fishes of the Pacific Coast: a postmodern experience. Really Big Press: Santa Barbara. 2011. 649 pp. ISBN 978-0-9628725-6-3.
Mola Marine e-book: Flatfish Made Easy by Gregory C. Jensen: https://molamarine.com/assets/images/flatfish%20made%20easy.pdf
Sumida, B. Y., E. H. Ahlstrom, and H. G. Moser. inchesEarly development of seven flatfishes of the eastern North Pacific with heavily pigmented larvae (Pisces, Pleuronectiformes).inches Fish. Bull 77.1 (1979): 105-145.

C-O Sole

C-O Sole

Other Common Names

At the Aquarium

Appearance

Habitat

Diet

Life History

IUCN Status

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

Citations & Other Resources

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