Scophthalmus maximus
| Turbot | |
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| Scophthalmus maximus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Pleuronectiformes |
| Family: | Scophthalmidae |
| Genus: | Scophthalmus |
| Species: | S. maximus |
| Binomial name | |
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Scophthalmus maximus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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| Synonyms | |
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The turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) is a species of flatfish in the family Scophthalmidae. It is a demersal fish native to marine or brackish waters of the North Atlantic, Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
The word comes from the Old French tourbout, which in turn is thought to be a derivative of the Latin turbo ("spinning top") a possible reference to its shape. Another possible origin of the Old French word is from Old Swedish törnbut, from törn "thorn" + -but "stump, butt, flatfish", which may also be a reference to its shape (compare native English halibut). 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 A.D., suggesting this fish was a delicacy in the Roman empire.
In the US, UK and English-speaking Canada, turbot is pronounced /ˈtɜːrbət/ TUR-bət. The French pronunciation of "turbot" is [tyʁbo].
In Turkey, where the fish is popular and expensive, it is called kalkan ("shield"), from the fish's resemblance to the item. Instead of a smooth skin, kalkan (Scophthalmus maeoticus), which is from the Black Sea, has small spikes on both sides; it is considered a subspecies of the Mediterranean turbot (Scophthalmus maximus).
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Wikipedia