Atlantic halibut
Hippoglossus hippoglossus (Linnaeus, 1758)
The Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus), also called Halibut, is a bony fish in the family Pleuronectidae. It belongs to the order Pleuronectiformes, suborder Pleuronectoidei and subfamily Pleuronectinae, within the class Teleostei.
Quick facts about the Atlantic halibut
The species was named by Linnaeus in 1758, and its authority is written (Linnaeus, 1758). The IUCN Red List global assessment places the Atlantic halibut in the Near Threatened (NT) category, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- up to 320 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- up to 4.7 msrc for Length
- Lifespan
- up to 50 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the Atlantic halibut
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the Atlantic halibut live?
Not recorded
What is the Atlantic halibut?
The Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) is a flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. They are demersal fish living on or near sand, gravel or clay bottoms at depths of between 50 and 2,000 m (200 and 6,600 ft). The halibut is among the largest teleost (bony) fish in the world, and is a threatened species owing to a slow rate of growth and overfishing. Halibut are strong swimmers and are able to migrate long distances. Halibut size is not age-specific, but rather tends to follow a cycle related to halibut (and therefore food) abundance.
The native habitat of the Atlantic halibut is the temperate and arctic waters of the northern Atlantic, from Labrador and Greenland to Iceland, the Barents Sea and as far south as the Bay of Biscay and Virginia. It is the largest flatfish in the world, reaching lengths of up to 4.7 m (15 ft) and weights of 320 kg (710 lb). Its lifespan can reach 50 years.
Age can be estimated by counting the rings laid down inside the otolith – a bony structure found inside the inner ear of the fish.
From the Wikipedia article “Atlantic halibut” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantic_halibut&oldid=1383040880), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the Atlantic halibut endangered?
The Atlantic halibut is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species.
How is the Atlantic halibut classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderPleuronectiformes
- familyPleuronectidae
- genusHippoglossus
- SpeciesHippoglossus hippoglossus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Hippoglossus americanus, Hippoglossus gigas, Hippoglossus hippoglossus, Hippoglossus linnei, Hippoglossus maximus, Hippoglossus maximus, Hippoglossus vulgaris, Pleuronectes hippoglossus
Other names and names in other languages (53)
- HalibutEnglish
- HalibutEnglish
- HalibutEnglish
- fletán / hálibutAsturian
- fletanBreton
- platýs obecnýCzech
- lleden FfrengigWelsh
- Lledod FfrengigWelsh
- helleflynderDanish
- Atlantisk helleflynderDanish
- HeilbuttGerman
- Atlantischer HeilbuttGerman
- fletánSpanish
- Fletán del AtlánticoSpanish
- halibutSpanish
- HipoglosoSpanish
- pez mantequillaSpanish
- RuijanpallasFinnish
- KalviFaroese
- flétanFrench
- flétan atlantiqueFrench
- flétan de l'AtlantiqueFrench
- Flétan de l’AtlantiqueFrench
- helbotFrench
- LúðaIcelandic
- flyðraIcelandic
- heilagfiskiIcelandic
- lüðaIcelandic
- atlantinis paltusasLithuanian
- kveiteNorwegian Bokmål
- AtlanterhavskveiteNorwegian Bokmål
- hellefiskNorwegian Bokmål
- helleflyndreNorwegian Bokmål
- kveitebarnNorwegian Bokmål
- heilbotDutch
- Atlantische heilbotDutch
- kveiteNorwegian Nynorsk
- Fiskeslaget kveiteNorwegian Nynorsk
- storkveiteNorwegian Nynorsk
- kveiteNorwegian
- kulbakPolish
- halibutPolish
- halibut atlantyckiPolish
- halibut białyPolish
- LinguadoPortuguese
- paltusRussian
- атлантический белокорый палтусRussian
- bálddisNorthern Sami
- navadni jezikSlovenian
- hälleflundraSwedish
- Atlantik halibutuTurkish
- Палтус атлантичнийUkrainian
- 庸鰈Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the Atlantic halibut
Other species in the same genus Hippoglossus.
CompareAtlantic halibut vs Pacific halibutAtlantic halibut vs Hippoglossus ponticusAtlantic halibut vs Hippoglossus septentrionalis
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the Atlantic halibut?
The Atlantic halibut is a bony fish in the family Pleuronectidae and the order Pleuronectiformes.
What is the scientific name of the Atlantic halibut?
Its scientific name is Hippoglossus hippoglossus, and it belongs to the genus Hippoglossus.
Is the Atlantic halibut endangered?
No, it is listed as Near Threatened (NT) in the IUCN Red List global assessment, which is not a threatened category.
Who named the Atlantic halibut?
Linnaeus named it in 1758; the authority is written (Linnaeus, 1758).
What other names does the Atlantic halibut have?
The Atlantic halibut is also called Halibut in English.
Which class does the Atlantic halibut belong to?
The Atlantic halibut belongs to the class Teleostei, in the phylum Chordata and kingdom Animalia.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/atlantic-halibut
“Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/atlantic-halibut.
@misc{atlantic_halibut_2026,
title = {Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/atlantic-halibut},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}