Order Pleuronectiformes Family Scophthalmidae(turbots) Megrim Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis(Walbaum, 1792). 60.0 cm TL. common length : 25.0 cm TL Dorsal spines 0, Dorsal soft rays 85-94, Anal soft rays 64 - 74.
Distribution; Northeast Atlantic/Iceland southward to Cape Bojador(26°N), West Sahara and in the western Mediterranean. General; Depth range from 100-400 m and from 288-700 m in the eastern Ionian Sea. Adults occur on soft bottoms. Dorsal fin origin closer to tip of snout than to anterior edge of eye. Dorsal and anal fins terminate just a little on the blind side of the caudal peduncle. Lateral line forms a distinct curve above the pectoral fin. Dorsal and anal fin with indefinite darker spots posteriorly. It is left-eyed, has a slightly larger head than usual in flatfish, The colouration is usually light brown. It lacks the highly distinct dark spots found on the fins in its close relative, the four-spot megrim(L. boscii). The megrim prefers a sandy or muddy sea floor. They are predators and eat small fish and squid and also consume crustaceans. In turn megrim are themselves prey for larger species such as sharks, seals and large cod. Megrim spawn in deep waters off Iceland and the west of Ireland, while there is a separate spawning population in the Mediterranean. Megrim are commercially valuable and are caught by a number of nations around Europe. It is caught by bottom trawling and is directly targeted in some fisheries, whereas in others it is retained as a valuable bycatch. France and Spain are the largest consumers of this species with most of the megrim caught in British water being exported to these nations. However, there has been a drive in Britain to get people to eat more megrim as a way of taking pressure off overexploited fish such as cod and haddock.
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