730 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Genus PLATOPHRYS Swainson 



Eyes and color on the left side; body ovate, strongly com- 

 pressed; mouth of the large type, but comparatively small; the 

 maxillary one third or less of the length of the head; teeth 

 small, subequal, in one or two series, no teeth on vorner or 

 palatines; interorbital space broad and concave, broadest in 

 adult males; gill rakers moderate; dorsal fin beginning in front 

 of eye, all its rays simple; ventral of colored side on ridge of 

 abdomen; caudal convex behind; pectoral of left side usually 

 with one or more filamentous rays, longest in the male; scales 

 very small, ctenoid, adherent; lateral line with a strong arch 

 in front; coloration usually variegated. 



All the species are extremely closely related and can be dis- 

 tinguished with difficulty. On the other hand, the variations 

 due to differences of age and sex are greater than in any other 

 of our genera. 



367 Platophrys ocellatus (Agassiz) 



Sand Flounder 



Rhombus ocellatus AGASSIZ, Spix, Pise. Brasil. 85, pi. 46, 1829, Brazil. 

 PlatapTirys nebular is JORDAN & GILBERT, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 31, 143, 



1884, Key West; GOODE & BEAN, Oceanic Ichth. 441, 1896. 

 RhomtooidichtJiys ocellatus GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. IV, 433, 1862; 



POEY, Syn. Pise. Gubens. 408, 1868. 

 PlatopJirys ocellatus SWAINSON, Nat. Hist. Class'n Fishes, II, 302, 1839; 



BEAN, 19th Rep. C'omm. Fish. N. Y. 247, 1890; JORDAN & EVERMANN, 



Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. Ill, 2663, 1898; IV, pi. CCCLXXXII, fig. 939, 



1900. 



Body rhomboid ovate, its depth one half of the total length; 

 length of head one fourth of total without caudal; mouth small, 

 oblique ; eyes large, the diameter of the upper eye contained two 

 and two thirds, times in length of head, almost equal to depth 

 of caudal peduncle; teeth conic, the upper jaw with two series, 

 the lower with one; the dorsal fin originates a short distance 

 from tip of upper jaw and continues to caudal; ventral origin 

 on a vertical through front of eye; the ventral and anal sepa- 

 rated by a short space; pectoral of eyed side about equal in 

 length to caudal; scales of moderate size, those of colored side 



