turbot
{{Short description|Species of flatfish in the family Scophthalmidae}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Turbot
| image = Psetta_maxima_Luc_Viatour.jpg
| image_caption =
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| taxon = Scophthalmus maximus
| authority = (Linnaeus, 1758)
| synonyms = {{collapsible list|
- Pleuronectes cyclops Donovan, 1806
- Pleuronectes maximus Linnaeus, 1758
- Pleuronectes turbot Lacepède, 1802
- Psetta maxima (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Psetta maxima maxima (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Rhombus aculeatus Gottsche, 1835
- Rhombus magnus Minding, 1832
- Rhombus maximus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Rhombus stellosus Bennett, 1835
- Scophthalmus ponticus Ninni, 1932
}}}}
File:Turbot total production thousand tonnes 1950-2022.svg{{Cite web |title=Fisheries and Aquaculture - Global Production |url=https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/collection/global_production?lang=en |access-date=2024-05-06 |website=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)}}]]
The turbot ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɜr|b|ə|t|}} {{respell|TUR|bət}}{{Cite web |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/turbot |title=turbot |publisher=dictionary.reference.com }}) Scophthalmus maximus is a relatively large species of flatfish in the family Scophthalmidae. It is a demersal fish native to marine or brackish waters of the Northeast Atlantic, Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. It is an important food fish.{{FishBase | genus=Psetta | species=maxima | year=2019 | month=December }} Turbot in the Black Sea were often included in this species, but are now generally regarded as separate – the Black Sea turbot or kalkan (S. maeoticus).{{FishBase genus | genus = Scophthalmus| month = December | year = 2019}} True turbot are not found in the Northwest Atlantic; the "turbot" of that region, which was involved in the so-called "Turbot War" between Canada and Spain, is the Greenland halibut or Greenland turbot (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides).{{cite book | author=Stephens, T. | year=2009 | title=International Courts and Environmental Protection | pages=212–214 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | isbn=978-0-521-88122-7 }}
Etymology
The word comes from the Old French {{lang|fro|tourbout}}, which may be a derivative of the Latin {{lang|la|turbo}} ('spinning top'), a possible reference to its shape.{{cite web |title=turbot, n. |work=OED Online |date=December 2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url= https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/207569?redirectedFrom=turbot |access-date= January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription}} Another possible origin of the Old French word is from Old Swedish {{lang|non|törnbut}}, from {{lang|non|törn}} 'thorn' + {{lang|non|-but}} 'stump, butt, flatfish', which may also be a reference to its shape (compare native English halibut).{{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=turbot |title=turbot |work=Online Etymology Dictionary}} Early reference to the turbot can be found in a satirical poem ("The Emperor's Fish") by Juvenal, a Roman poet of the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD, suggesting this fish was a delicacy in the Roman empire.
Description
The turbot is a large left eyed flatfish found primarily close to shore in sandy shallow waters throughout the Mediterranean, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and the North Atlantic. The European turbot has an asymmetric disk-shaped body, and has been known to grow up to {{convert|1|m|in|-1|spell=in|abbr=off}} long and {{convert|55|lb|kg|order=flip|abbr=off}} in weight.{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Turbot|volume=27}}
Fisheries
Turbot is highly prized as a food fish for its delicate flavour, and is also known as brat, breet, britt, or butt. It is a valuable commercial species, acquired through aquaculture and trawling. Turbot are farmed in Bulgaria, Canada, France, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Turkey, Chile, Norway, and China.[http://www.seafood-portal.com/Fish_Products/Psetta_maxima:Turbot Psetta Maxima] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110223200309/http://www.seafood-portal.com/Fish_Products/Psetta_maxima:Turbot |date=2011-02-23 }} Seafood Portal
Turbot has a bright white flesh that retains this appearance when cooked. Like all flatfish, turbot yields four fillets with meatier topside portions that may be baked, poached, steamed, or pan-fried.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Wiktionary|turbot}}
{{Commons category|Scophthalmus maximus|Scophthalmus maximus}}
- {{ITIS|id=616195|taxon=Scophthalmus maximus (Linnaeus, 1758)}}
{{Flatfish}}
{{Commercial fish topics}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q217329}}
Category:Fish described in 1758
Category:Fish of the Mediterranean Sea