Turbot

a favorite table fish in European cities. The European turbot weighs from five to ten or even fifty pounds. It is what is known as a flatfish, a term applied also to the sole, flounder, and halibut. Its body is flattened like that of a sunfish only more so, and is surrounded almost entirely by a continuous dorsal and anal fin. The head is twisted so that both eyes are on one side. It swims on one side; the upper side is dark, the lower side light colored. One would naturally take the lower side for the belly and the upper side for the back; but this is not the case. One gill opening and a fin are on the lower side. A careful examination of the fish reveals the fact that the entire digestive tract--the "insides" of the fish--are within an inch or two of the head, and that the apparent body is a widely lobed tail. The turbot is one of the finest table fishes. It feeds on clean sandy bottoms, and is caught according to season with trawl net or hook and line. The London markets dispose of fresh turbot and lobster sauce to the value of a million dollars a year. See Fish; Flounder