Rock Sole
Latin Name
Lepidopsetta bilineata
Group Name
Groundfish
Habitat
Rock sole are Pacific Ocean groundfish that are classified as two different species, a northern population referred to as Lepidopsetta bilineata and a southern population known as Lepidopsetta petraborealis.
L. petraborealis is the more common of the two, and range from southern California to the Bering Sea. L. bilineata, meanwhile, have a distribution that begins in Washington State and stretches north and then west across the Pacific Ocean to Japan. Rock sole are commonly found on gravelly bottoms at depth ranges of 10-120 metres. They prefer bottom temperatures of 7.5-10.5˚ Celsius.
Species Description
Rock sole have a flattened body shaped somewhat like an arrowhead that easily skims along the ocean floor. They have a small, pointed head, a rounded, fan-like tail, and long, flat fins on each side of their body. Their colouration varies, but is usually a mottling of brown and grey, a pattern that blends in well with the ocean floor. Rock sole can grow to about 50 centimetres. They live up to 21 years.
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