113. PLEURONECTJD.E - PARALICHTHYS. 821 



evenly imbricated ; lateral line very prominent. Dorsal fin beginning 

 just behind the middle of the eye; caudal peduncle nearly as long as 

 the pectoral flu, about two-fifths the length of the head. Head 3|; 

 depth 3. D. 103; A. 86; Lat. 1. 135. San Francisco to Alaska, in 

 deep water; reaching a length of 2 feet. 



(Platysomatichthys slomias Jordan & Gilbert, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1830,301.) 



454. PARALICHTHYS Girard. 



( Pseudorhombus Bleeker : Ancylopselta, Ch^enopaetta, and Uropsetta Gill : Xystreurys 



J. & G: Hippoglossina Steindachuer.) 



(Girard, U. S. Pac. R. R. Surv. Fish. 1858, 14G: typo ParaUchthys maculosus Girard.) 



Eyes and color on the left side (except in Paralichthys maculosus and 

 Paralichthys liolepis, reversed examples of which species are about as 

 common as sinistral ones). Body oblong; mouth large, oblique; each 

 jaw with a single row of usually slender and sharp teeth, which are 

 more or less enlarged anteriorly; no teeth on vomer or palatines. Gill- 

 rakers various. Scales small, ctenoid or cycloid; lateral line simple, 

 with a strong curve anteriorly. Dorsal fin beginning above or before 

 the eye; both ventrals lateral; caudal fin double truncate, or double 

 concave, its middle rays produced ; no anal spine. Species numerous, 

 found in all warm seas. (-a/m/AeAo?, parallel; i'/^Ou-^ fish.) 



1264. P. californicaiS (Ayres) J. & G. Monterey halibut; Bastard halibut. 



Grayish brown, uniform, or mottled with blackish and pale, the head 

 sometimes sprinkled with black dots; young brownish, with bluish 

 spots. Body rather long and thickish; head small; eye small, little 

 wider than the broad, flattish interorbital space; maxillary as long as 

 pectoral, half length of head, reaching beyond eye ; teeth slender, sharp, 

 rather long, the canines moderate. Scales small, finely ciliate, each 

 scale surrounded by narrow, accessory scales ; scales on blind side simi- 

 lar; fins with ctenoid scales. Dorsal low, beginning over front of upper 

 eye. Gill-rakers very loug and slender, numerous, as long as eye, 23 

 below the angle. Lower pharyngeals narrow, with small, slender teeth. 

 Anal spine small, concealed. Head 3^ to 4J ; depth 2. D. 70; A. 55; 

 Lat. 1. 100. Body indifferently dextral or sinistral. Coast of California; 

 abundant southward; an important food-fish, reaching a weight of GO 

 pounds. 



(Paralickthys maculosus Girard, Proc. Acad. Nat. Soi. Phil. 1854, 147, young (not 

 Rhombus maculosus Cuvier, which is also a species of Paralichiltys): ParalichtJiys macu- 

 losus Girard, U. S. Pac. R. R. Surv. Fish. 147: Paraliclithys maculosus Giinther, iv, 431: 

 Hippoglossus californicus. Ayres, Proc. Cal. Acad. Nat. Sci. 1859, 29: Paralichthys macu- 

 losus and Uropsetta californica Gill, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 1864, 197: Pseudorhombus 

 californicus Giinther, iv, 426.) 



