dab
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Dab ( Limanda limanda ) |
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| Limanda limanda | ||||||||||||
| Linnaeus , 1758 |
The dab ( Limanda limanda ), also Scharbe , Eisflunder , Skantjes and Rauhe Scholle , is a flatfish that spreads on the western and northern European coasts (North Sea countries, Biscay , the Eastern Atlantic up to about the height of Trondheim and the Baltic Sea up to Gotland ) is. The main area of distribution is the southern North Sea .
ecology
The habitat of the dab consists of sandy, soft soils down to a depth of around 100 meters, including the Wadden Sea . An important feature to distinguish the dab from other flatfish in the same habitat is the distinctive semicircular curved side line above the pectoral fin, but it is often confused with the plaice, for example. The animals feed on invertebrates ( brittle stars , worms, mussels, crabs) and occasionally small fish. They can grow up to 40 centimeters, the highest known age is twelve years. The spawning season extends from December to June with a focus on March to May (other sources say February-April). Dab become sexually mature at around two years and 10 to 12 centimeters (in the case of the males) and at 14 to 20 centimeters and three years (in the case of the females). The eggs are free-floating ( planktonic ). In contrast to plaice and flounder , the (especially female) dab shows no migratory instinct, as a standing fish it only moves from deeper water near the coast and back again.
Dab have been researched quite well, on the one hand because they are relatively common (estimated total population in the North Sea 1.5 million tons) and on the other hand because they are suitable for monitoring the state of the habitat based on the development of the population . Dab are sensitive to anthropogenic environmental changes and therefore show a high rate of malformations (skeletal deformations, ulcers, liver changes) in the southern North Sea.
Economical meaning
Dabs are edible fish , as such they appear in fish markets, fresh or frozen, dried or smoked. They are not as expensive as, for example, sole . Dab can be fished well from the bank .
swell
- Dab on Fishbase.org (English)
- Erwin Stresemann (founder), Konrad Senglaub et al. (Ed.): Vertebrates (= excursion fauna of Germany. Vol. 3). 12th, heavily edited edition. Spektrum, Heidelberg et al. 2003, ISBN 3-8274-0661-7 , p. 116.