Unicorn sole

Aesopia cornuta

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth20–150 m
Water temperature22–29 °C
Best monthsMarch, April, and July
How commonRare

Photo credit: (c) Franz Anthony, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Aesopia cornuta is a species of sole native to the Indian and western Pacific Oceans. Its common names include the unicorn sole, thickray sole, banded sole, and dark thick-rayed sole. This species grows to a standard length of 25 cm (9.8 in), and is the only known member of its genus.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Aesopia”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 2 records
February: 2 records
March: 9 records
April: 9 records
May: 7 records
June: 8 records
July: 11 records
August: 3 records
September: 9 records
October: 7 records
November: 8 records
December: 2 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 20–150 m · Deepest record: 635 m

0–10 m: 2 records
10–20 m: 2 records
20–30 m: 3 records
30–40 m: 4 records
40–50 m: 5 records
50–60 m: 5 records
60–70 m: 6 records
70–80 m: 11 records
80–90 m: 3 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 2 records
110+ m: 5 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 22–29 °C

22–24 °C: 22 records
24–26 °C: 13 records
26–28 °C: 14 records
28–30 °C: 32 records

Names and classification

English: Unicorn sole, Dark Thick-rayed Sole, horned sole, Thickray Sole, unicorn sole

Names in 2 more languages

Japanese: Tsunoshinoshita, ツノウシノシタ
Simplified Chinese: 比目魚, 狗舌, 角牛舌, 角鰨

Other scientific names: Coryphaesopia cornuta, Synaptura cornuta

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
170 open-data records from 1858 to 2025.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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