PLAICE (Pleuronectes platessa), a species of flat-fish, common on the coasts of northern Europe from Iceland to the Bay of Biscay. It is readily recognized by the yellow or orange-coloured spots which are placed in a row along the dorsal and anal fins, and scattered over the body. The eyes are on the right side, and the teeth in the jaws compressed and truncate. The scales are minute and smooth. Plaice, like other flat-fishes, prefer a sandy flat bottom to a rocky ground, and occur in suitable localities in great abundance; they spawn early in spring, and are in finest condition in the month of May. Individuals of seven or eight pounds weight are considered fish of large size, but specimens of double that weight have been caught.
See the monograph by F. J. Cole and J. Johnstone (Liverpool, 1901); and W. Garstang’s “Reports on the Natural History of the Plaice” (Rapports et procès-verbaux du conseil international pour l’exploration de la mer, 1905 seq.).