492 Suborder Heterosomata 



found in the North Pacific. V eras per variegatus of Japan is 

 notable for its bright coloration, the lower side being largely 

 orange-red. 



In the bastard halibuts, Paralichthys, the eyes and color 

 are on the left side. These much resemble the true halibut, 

 but are smaller and inferior as food, besides differing in details 

 of structure. The Monterey halibut (Paralichthys californicus) 

 is the largest of these, reaching a weight of sixty pounds. This 

 species and one other from California (Xystreurys Hole pis), 

 normally left-sided, differ from all the other flounders in having 



FIG. 437. Halibut, Hippoglossus hippoglossus Linnaeus. Marmot I., Alaska. 



the eyes almost as often on the right side as on the left side, 

 as usual or normal in their type. The summer flounder (Para- 

 lichthys dentatus) replaces the Monterey halibut on the Atlantic 

 Coast, where it is a common food-fish. Farther south it gives 

 way to the Southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) and 

 the Gulf flounder, Paralichthys albigutta. In Japan Para- 

 lichthys olivaceus is equally common, and in western Mexico 

 Paralichthys sinaloaz. The four-spotted flounder of New Eng- 

 land, Paralichthys oblongus, belongs to this group. Similar 

 species constituting the genus Pseudorhombus abound in India 

 and Japan. 



The Plaice Tribe : Pleuronectinae. The plaice tribe pass grad- 

 ually into the halibut tribe, from which they differ in the 

 small mouth, in which the blunt teeth are mostly on the blind 

 side. The eyes are on the right side, the vertebrae are numerous, 

 and the species live only in the cold seas, none being found in 

 the tropics. In most of the Pacific species the lateral line 



