MEPS 301:307-310 (2005)  -  doi:10.3354/meps301307

ABSTRACT: This paper provides the first report of the intersex (ovotestis) condition in the flatfish species dab Limanda limanda. Specimens presenting the condition were collected from the North Dogger Bank in the North Sea during the United Kingdom National Marine Monitoring Programme in 2003. Two of the individuals collected (14.3% of the males sampled) presented externally as males but upon histological examination were seen to contain both male and female gonadal tissues. Pre-vitellogenic oocytes were suspended within a matrix of spermatogonia and spermatocytes. One of the specimens also presented dilated testicular follicles filled with masses of mature spermatozoa. The significance of this finding in the United Kingdom’s sentinel offshore monitoring species is discussed with relation to potential offshore effects of exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).

KEY WORDS: Flatfish · Endocrine disruption · Limanda limanda · Ovotestis · Ovary · Testis · Reproduction