The brill, Scophthalmus rhombus, is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of flatfish

Flatfish

The flatfish are an order of ray-finned fish, also called the Heterosomata, sometimes classified as a suborder of Perciformes. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the head, one or the other migrating through and around the head during development...

 in the turbot

Turbot

The turbot is a species of flatfish in the family Scophthalmidae. It is native to marine or brackish waters of the North Atlantic, Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.-Etymology:...

 family (Scophthalmidae) of the order Pleuronectiformes. Brill can be found in the North Atlantic, Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

, and Mediterranean, primarily in deeper offshore waters.

The brill have slender bodies, brown with lighter and darker coloured flecks covering its body, excluding the tailfin; the underside of the fish is usually cream coloured or pinkish white. Like other flatfish the brill has the ability to match its colour to the surroundings. Brills are on average between 40 cm to 75 cm in length and weigh up 3 kg. Part of the dorsal fin

Dorsal fin

A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...

 of the fish is not connected to the fin membrane, which gives the fish a frilly appearance. They are sometimes confused with the Turbot (Psetta maxima), which is more diamond-shaped.

On the west coast of Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 local fisherman refer to the Petrale Sole, Eopsetta jordanii as brill.

Name in other languages

Brill

Language	Name
French	Barbue
Italian	Rombo Liscio
Catalan	Rèmol
Danish	Slethvar
Dutch	Griet
Polish	Nagład
German	Glattbutt
Romanian	Calcan
Portuguese Portuguese language Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...	Rodovalho
Spanish Spanish language Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...	Rombo
Finnish Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...	Silokampela

Sources

• Scophthalmus rhombus Marine Life Encyclopedia

External links

• Brill, in What Am I Eating? A Food Dictionary