turbot

/terr"beuht/, n., pl. (esp. collectively) turbot, (esp. referring to two or more kinds or species) turbots.

1. a European flatfish, Psetta maxima, having a diamond-shaped body: valued as a food fish.

2. any of several other flatfishes.

3. a triggerfish.

[1250-1300; ME turbut < AF; OF tourbot < ML turb(o) turbot (L: top; appar. applied to the fish because of its outline; see TURBINE, TURBIT) + OF -ot n. suffix]

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Species (Scophthalmus maximus, family Scophthalmidae or Bothidae) of broad-bodied European flatfish, a highly valued food fish.

It lives along sand and gravel shores. It is left-sided (with eyes normally on the left side of the head) and scaleless; the head and body are studded with numerous bony knobs. Turbots grow to, at most, 40 in. (1 m) long and weigh about 55 lb (25 kg). Colour varies with the surroundings but is usually gray-brown or light brown with darker markings. A related species is the Black Sea turbot (S. maeoticus). Certain right-sided Pacific flatfish (genus Pleuronichthys, family Pleuronectidae) are also called turbot.

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▪ fish

      (Psetta maxima), broad-bodied European flatfish of the family Scophthalmidae. A highly valued food fish, the turbot lives along sand and gravel shores. It is a left-sided flatfish, with its eyes normally on the left side of the head, and it is scaleless, though its head and body are studded with numerous bony knobs, or tubercles. It reaches a maximum length of 1 metre (40 inches) and weight of about 25 kilograms (55 pounds). Colour varies with the surroundings but is usually gray brown or light brown with darker markings.

      Several other flatfish are also called turbot. Among them are the Black Sea turbot (Scophthalmus maeoticus), a relative of the European species, and certain right-sided, Pacific Ocean flatfish of the genus Pleuronichthys and the family Pleuronectidae.

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