{{Short description|Family of fishes}} {{About|soles of the family Soleidae|soles of all families|sole (fish)}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Soles | fossil_range = {{fossil range|Ypresian|present}} | image = Pegusa_lascaris.jpg | image_caption = Sand sole, ''Pegusa lascaris'' | taxon = Soleidae | authority = Bonaparte, 1832 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision_ref = <ref>{{FishBase family | family = Soleidae| month = December | year = 2012}}</ref> | subdivision = See text }}
The '''true soles''' are a family, '''Soleidae''', of flatfishes. It includes saltwater and brackish water species in the East Atlantic, Indian Ocean, West and Central Pacific Ocean, and the Mediterranean sea. Freshwater species are found in Africa, southern Asia, New Guinea, and Australia. Many soles are important food species: the common sole, ''Solea solea'', is popular in northern Europe and the Mediterranean.
== Taxonomy == In the past, soles of the Americas (both fresh and salt water) were included in this family, but they have been separated to their own family, the American soles (Achiridae). The only true sole remaining in that region is ''Aseraggodes herrei'' of the Galápagos and Cocos Island.<ref>{{FishBase | genus = Aseraggodes | species= herrei| month = May | year = 2014}}</ref>
=== Classification === The following genera are placed in this family:<ref name="CofFF">{{Cof family|family=Soleidae|access-date=16 July 2025}}</ref>
* ''Achiroides'' * ''Aesopia'' * ''Aseraggodes'' * ''Austroglossus'' * ''Barnardichthys'' * ''Bathysolea'' * ''Brachirus'' * ''Buglossidium'' * ''Dagetichthys'' * ''Dexillus'' * ''Dicologlossa'' * ''Heteromycteris'' * ''Leptachirus'' * ''Liachirus'' * ''Microchirus'' * ''Monochirus'' * ''Paradicula'' * ''Pardachirus'' * ''Pegusa'' * ''Phyllichthys'' * ''Pseudaesopia'' * ''Rendahlia'' * ''Rhinosolea'' * ''Solea'' * ''Soleichthys'' * ''Synaptura'' * ''Synapturichthys'' * ''Synclidopus'' * ''Typhlachirus'' * ''Vanstraelenia'' * ''Zebrias''
=== Evolution === The earliest known fossil remains of soles are indeterminate otoliths from the Early Eocene-aged London Clay. During the Middle Eocene (Lutetian), the first fossil skeletons of soles are known in ''Eobuglossus'' and ''Turahbuglossus'' from Egypt.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Chanet |first=Bruno |date=1994 |title=''Eubuglossus eocenicus'' (Woodward 1910) from the Upper Lutetian of Egypt, one of the oldest soleids (Teleostei, Pleuronectiformes) |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233812113 |journal=N. Jb. Geol. Paläont. Mh. |issue=7 |pages=391–398}}</ref> Other fossil soles include †''Oligosolea'' <small>Kovalchuk ''et al''., 2025</small> from the Early Oligocene of Poland, and †''Parasolea'' <small>Schwarzhans ''et al''., 2017</small> from the Middle Miocene of Croatia.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kovalchuk |first1=Oleksandr |last2=Bienkowska-Wasiluk |first2=Małgorzata |last3=Dubikovska |first3=Anastasiia |last4=Świdnicka |first4=Ewa |last5=Stefaniak |first5=Krzysztof |last6=Khekalo |first6=Olga |last7=Barkaszi |first7=Zoltán |title=Oligocene flatfishes (Teleostei, Pleuronectiformes) of the Outer Carpathian Basin |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2025.2520490 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |date=2025 |volume=0 |article-number=e2520490 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2025.2520490 |issn=0272-4634|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Schwarzhans |first1=Werner |last2=Carnevale |first2=Giorgio |last3=Japundžić |first3=Sanja |last4=Bradić-Milinović |first4=Katarina |date=2017 |title=Otoliths in situ from Sarmatian (Middle Miocene) fishes of the Paratethys. Part V: Bothidae and Soleidae |url=https://sjpp.springeropen.com/articles/10.1007/s13358-017-0128-7 |journal=Swiss Journal of Palaeontology |language=en |volume=136 |issue=1 |pages=109–127 |doi=10.1007/s13358-017-0128-7 |bibcode=2017SwJP..136..109S |issn=1664-2376|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
== Ecology == The true soles are bottom-dwelling fishes feeding on small crustaceans and other invertebrates. The family contains 30 genera and a total of about 180 species.
A flatfish resembling a small halibut or sole was observed by the bathyscaphe ''Trieste'' at the bottom of the Mariana Trench at a depth around {{convert|11|km|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref>BBC News (23 February 2012). ''[https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-17060355 Meet the only man alive who has been to the deepest ocean.]''. Retrieved 17 May 2014.</ref> This observation has been questioned by fish experts, and recent authorities do not recognize it as valid.<ref>Jamieson, A.J., and Yancey, P. H. (2012). ''[http://www.biolbull.org/content/222/3/171.full On the Validity of the Trieste Flatfish: Dispelling the Myth.]'' The Biological Bulletin 222(3): 171–175</ref>
== Life history == Soles begin life as bilaterally symmetric larvae, with an eye on each side of the head, but during development, the left eye moves around onto the right side of the head. Adult soles lie on their left (blind) sides on the sea floor, often covered in mud, which in combination with their dark colours, makes them hard to spot.<gallery> Image:Aesopia cornuta.jpg|Unicorn sole, ''Aesopia cornuta'' Image:Buglossidium luteum.jpg|Solenette, ''Buglossidium luteum'' Image:Solea solea 1.jpg|Common sole, ''Solea solea'' file:Synaptura panoides - 1866-1872 - Print - Iconographia Zoologica - Special Collections University of Amsterdam - UBA01 IZ14000237.tif|Freshwater sole, ''Brachirus panoides'' </gallery>
== References == {{Commons category|Soleidae}} {{Reflist}}
{{flatfish}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q736867}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Soleidae Category:Carangiformes families Category:Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte Category:Extant Ypresian first appearances