American plaice
American plaice, Hippoglossoides platessoides
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Pleuronectiformes
Family:	Pleuronectidae
Genus:	Hippoglossoides
Species:	H. platessoides
Binomial name
Hippoglossoides platessoides

The American plaice or sole, Hippoglossoides platessoides, is a flatfish that belongs, along with other right eyed flounders, to the Pleuronectidae family. American plaice are an Atlantic species.^[1] Their range is from southern Labrador to Rhode Island. They spawn in the Gulf of Maine, with peak activity in April and May. They grow to a maximum length of 70 cm (28 inches).^[2] The species is considered by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization to be overfished, with no signs of recovery.^[3] On the other hand, the Canadian government believes the species is abundant, and counts it as the second most caught flatfish, totalling 50% of the flatfish caught by Canadian fishermen.^[4]

American plaice may be an intermediate host for the nematode parasite Otostrongylus circumlitis, which is a lungworm of seals, primarily affecting animals less than 1 yr of age. They are also currently endangered in Canada due to overfishing. ^[5]

[edit] References

1. ^ "Plaice." Grolier Encyclopedia of Knowledge, volume 15, copyright 1991. Grolier Inc., ISBN 0-7172-5300-7
2. ^ [1] Dery, L.M. "American plaice, Hippoglossoides platessoides." Fishery Biology Program, Woods Hole Massachusetts Laboratory of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC).retrieved January 18, 2007
3. ^ [2] Fishery Recent Assessment (2005 and 2006). Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization. retrieved January 18, 2007
4. ^ [3] "American plaice." Underwater World. Fisheries and Oceans Canada. retrieved January 18, 2007
5. ^ Bergeron et al. 1997. Canadian Journal of Zoology 75: 1364-1371.