Microstomus kitt (Walbaum, 1792) 

Lemon sole

Microstomus kitt in the Kosterfjord, 1998. Image provided by Tomas Lundalv/Lisbeth Jonsson.

Microstomus kitt near the Sula Reef, 1999.  Image provided by Andre Freiwald.

The lemon sole is distributed from the White Sea and northern Norway, south to the Bay of Biscay.  They are most commonly distributed around the British Isles and are also found off Iceland.  They are generally found on stoney bottoms at depths of 20 to 200 m.  Microstomus kitt feeds mostly on soft bodied invertebrates particularly polychaetes.  Spawning occurs between April and September (Whitehead et al., 1986b).

Like most of the family Pleuronectidae, Microstomus kitt usually have their eyes on the right side.  They grow to 45 cm but  more commonly only to 20-30 cm. The species has a small mouth, and its colouration is brownish or greyish but often spotted or marbled with lighter and darker marks (Whitehead et al., 1986b).

During the present survey, Microstomus kitt was observed on the seabed adjacent to the Sula reefs and the Kosterfjord Säcken reef. It did not appear to be disturbed by the presence of the camera.

The lemon sole is of commercial importance as a food fish (Whitehead et al., 1986b).

There is more information available for this species in FishBase.

Prepared by: Ecological Consultancy Services Ltd www.ecoserve.ie