Rex sole
Commonly caught off the Washington coast by commercial harvesters using otter-trawls. They are rarely caught by recreational harvesters within Puget Sound.
Description and Range
Physical description
A right-eyed sole with an elongate body covered in small scales. The eyed side is uniformly light brown to gray; the blind side is off-white to dusky. The dorsal and ventral fin edges are dark or dusky in color. The pectoral fin on the eyed side is very long, tapered and mostly black. This species has a caudal fin that is rounded with the longest rays in the center, forming a broad ‘V’. Rex sole have a lateral line that is straight lacking an accessory dorsal branch. They have a very small mouth and a rounded snout. The eyes are large with a ridge that runs between them. Rex sole have a strong anal spine.
Rex sole can grow up to 61 cm (24 in) in length. Maximum age is 27 years old.
Geographic range
Rex sole range from the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands in the north to Cedros Island, central Baja California in the south. They are widely distributed on sand and mud bottoms from 0 to 850 m (0-2,788 ft) in depth and are most abundant from about 183 to 457 m (600-1,500 ft) in depth.