Plaice

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/plaice

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Pleuronectes platessa
2. What is the diet?Carnivore; principal prey includes polychaete worms, small crustaceans, and bivalves
3. What makes the plaice a good camouflage on the ocean floor?The plaice has special skin cells that let it change color and pattern quickly. This helps it blend in with sand, mud, or gravel so predators and prey can’t see it.
4. Where can you find plaice in the Atlantic Ocean?Plaice live in the North Atlantic, from the coasts of Spain and Portugal up to Norway, Iceland, and the Barents Sea. They stay on the seabed in shallow waters up to about 200 meters deep.

Benthic: Relating to or occurring at the bottom of a body of water.
Ontogeny: The development of an individual organism from fertilization to maturity.
Chromatophores: Pigment-containing and light-reflecting cells that allow animals to change skin color.