Thetrue soles are a family,Soleidae, offlatfishes. It includes saltwater andbrackish water species in the East Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and West and Central Pacific Ocean. Freshwater species are found in Africa, southern Asia,New Guinea, and Australia.
In the past, soles of the Americas (both fresh and salt water) were included in this family, but they have been separated to their own family, theAmerican soles (Achiridae). The only true sole remaining in that region isAseraggodes herrei of theGalápagos andCocos Island.[2]
The true soles are bottom-dwelling fishes feeding on smallcrustaceans and otherinvertebrates. The family contains 30genera and a total of about 180 species.
Soles begin life asbilaterally symmetriclarvae, with an eye on each side of the head, but during development, the left eye moves around onto the right side of the head. Adult soles lie on their left (blind) sides on thesea floor, often covered in mud, which in combination with their dark colours, makes them hard to spot.
A flatfish resembling a smallhalibut or sole was observed by thebathyscapheTrieste at the bottom of theMariana Trench at a depth around 11 km (36,000 ft).[3] This observation has been questioned by fish experts, and recent authorities do not recognize it as valid.[4]
Many soles are important food species: thecommon sole,Solea solea, is popular in northernEurope and theMediterranean.
The earliest known fossil remains of soles are indeterminateotoliths from theEarly Eocene-agedLondon Clay. During the Middle Eocene (Lutetian), the first fossil skeletons of soles are known inEobuglossus andTurahbuglossus from Egypt.[5]
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