FLATFISHES. NORM AX. 219 



INTRODUCTION. 



THE Flatfishes collected by the F.I.S. "Endeavour" 

 and included in this report number about 250, and repre- 

 sent about 30 species, of which six are described as new to 

 science. Some of the specimens were obtained in the 

 seas of southern and south-western Australia, but the 

 bulk of the collection was taken off the coasts of 

 Queensland and northern New South Wales. In addition 

 to the "Endeavour" collections, I have studied all the 

 Australian material preserved in the collection of the 

 British Museum (Natural History), a number of dupli- 

 cate specimens provided by the Australian Museum, and 

 a small collection of Flatfishes from South Australia 

 kindly placed at my disposal by the authorities of the 

 South Australian Museum. 



In addition to the report on the "Endeavour" speci- 

 mens, I have included a synopsis of all the known Hetero- 

 somata of Australia, with keys to the genera and species. 

 With the exception of two or three species known only 

 from the original descriptions of the older ichthyologists, 

 the types of which have not yet been re-examined, I have 

 been able to identify all the Australian species. The 

 synonymy and known distribution is given, and, where 

 necessary, a re-description has also been included. 



No attempt has been made to make the synonymy 

 complete for every species, but I have endeavoured to 

 include all the more important Australian references. 



Finally, I have included a complete revision of the 

 subfamily Rhombosoleinse, which is almost entirely con- 

 fined to the waters of Australia and New Zealand. 1 This 

 subfamily presents several particularly interesting 

 features, of which the following are the more important: 

 the form of the nasal organs, and their evolution within 

 the group; the evolution of many sole-like characters 

 within the group, which provides an interesting example 



1 In connection with this revision I am greatly indebted to Mr. 

 G. Archey, of the Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, and to the 

 authorities of the Dominion Museum, Wellington, for New Zealand 

 material. 



