Flatfish
Dab
Limanda limanda
Limanda limanda (Linnaeus, 1758) · Pleuronectidae WoRMS 127139
Reference photos
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A right-eyed flatfish of sandy ground, brown with darker blotches and small speckles. The skin on its upper side feels rough where plaice and flounder feel smooth, and the lateral line is strongly arched into a semi-circular curve over the pectoral fin. Some dab carry a few orange spots, but not as well developed as a plaice's.
Depth
From the shore down to 150 m, most often at 20-40 m
Size
Up to 40-42 cm, though most reach only about 25 cm
Habitat
Sandy seabeds from the shore down to 150 m; the young stay close inshore in under 1 m of water
Behaviour
Raises its head and the front of its body and waits for prey to emerge, then strikes rapidly down; adults move inshore in warmer summer months
Diet
I eat
- Worms, crustaceans and molluscs taken from the seabed
- Echinoderms, including brittlestars and small sea urchins
- Small fishes, a main part of the diet alongside crustaceans
Eats me
- Larger predatory fish such as cod, whiting, conger eel and anglerfish
- Seals and small cetaceans, including grey and harbour seals and harbour porpoise
- Sharks and skates, including spurdog and thorny skate
Where you'd find it
Found all around Britain and Ireland, so you have a chance of seeing it anywhere on the coast.
Sources
Open-access references behind this page. Every statement on this page was read out of one of them; anything that could not be traced to a source was taken off the page rather than left standing. Each link was checked on the date shown, and confirmed then to be about this species.
Marine Life Information Network, Marine Biological Association of the UK
MarLINlink checked 2026-08-30
Limanda limanda (Linnaeus, 1758)
World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS Editorial Board)
TaxonomyCC BY 4.0link checked 2026-08-30
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