FLOUXDERS OF GENUS PARALICHTHTS AND RELATF-D GENERA 



295 



is evidently P. tetrofhthnlmoin from the Pacifir. 

 The hitter species besides agreeing with ohlonga in 

 nearly all the essential characters also has the 

 same color pattern. 



Specimens examined. — Provincetown, Mass. 

 (24365). Cape Cod Bay, Mass. (24;]:34; lat.41°r.5' 

 long. 70°07', 6 fatlioms). Off Xantncket. Mass. 

 (:«359, lat. 40°43' long. 70°4.5, 31 fathoms). 

 "Woods Hole. Mass. (10731: 4r)(i01). Vineyard 

 Sound, Mass. (MDOS, 54910. 549ir). 54927. .54933, 

 and 54.S9(i). Menemsha Bight, Martha'.s Vine- 

 yard, Mass. (1()552; 28702). Katama Bay, 

 Martha's Vineyard, Mass. (58859). Buzzards 

 Bay, Mass. (28"8r)l). West Bay. Newport, R. I. 

 (25853, 12.5 fathoms: 25893, 5 fathoms). Noank, 

 Conn. (14036). Long Island Sound at Milford 

 (67600) and Stratford (67613: 676618; 67628), 

 Conn. Long Island Sound, X. Y. (70207; 73413). 

 Orient, L<jng Island, N. Y. (7061 A. M. N. H.). 

 Tompkinsville, N. Y. (15089). Off Long Island 

 (31(i73, lat. 40°03' long. 70°45', 70 fathoms: 31672, 

 lat. 40°02' long. 70°45', 89 fathoms; 31691, lat. 

 40°02' long. 70°35', 100 fathoms ; 33023, lat. 40°02' 

 long. 70°27', 239 fathoms; 28711, lat. 40°01' 24" 

 long. 70°46', 98 fathoms) . Off New Jersey (33534, 

 lat. 39°59' 15" long. 70°36'30", 143 fathoms; 

 287.52, lat. 39°54' long. 69°51'30", 134 fathoms; 

 35508, lat. 39°33'40" long. 72°08'45", 87 fathoms; 

 33022, lat. 39°29' long. 72°19'55", 74 fathoms). 

 Off Virginia (32684, lat. 37°19'45" long. 

 74°26'06", 102 fathoms). Off North Carolina 

 (32785 lat. 36°38'30" long. 74°40'10", 81 

 fathoms: 45600, lat. 35°38' long. 74°53', 49 

 fathoms). Off South Carolina (45669, hit. 32°53' 

 long. 77°53', 99 fathoms). About 15 miles south 

 of Tortugas, Longley (92042). Total number of 

 specimens examined 113, 40 to 340 mm. 



Geographic and vertical distribution. — North- 

 ward this species has been recorded from Glou- 

 cester Harbor and also from Salem Harbor. Mass., 

 by Goode and Bean (1879), as C'haeno/>.srtta 

 ohlonga and as PseudorhomJbus oblotigus. How- 

 ever, later (1896) the same authors state: "The 

 northern limits of its range is marked liy the cap- 

 ture of a single small individual in 1877, off the 

 mouth of Salem Harbor." This would make it 

 seem likely that their previous reference to Glou- 

 cester Harbor was an error, but the authors may 

 have overlooked that record. Thei-e is also a rec- 

 ord from farther north on the register of the 



National .Musimiiii. apparently unpublished hereto- 

 fore, namely, off Nova Scotia, lat. 45°25' N. long. 

 57°10' W., 170 fathoms. This record (23905) en- 

 tered in the register in 1880 as Pseudorhombus 

 ohlangiis could not be verified as to the identifica- 

 tion, since the specimen is not available at present. 

 The southernmost record previously published is 

 apparently that of Longley (1941) from off 

 Tortugas. The specimens examined as listed in 

 the preceding paragraph c-over the range from 

 Provincetown, Mass., to Tortugas, Fla. 



The vertical distribution of the species is in- 

 teresting in that it varies from north to south. 

 Near the northern end of its range, between Mas- 

 sachusetts and New York, it is common in com- 

 I>aratively shallow water just off the coast and in 

 the larger bays and sounds where it is sometimes 

 taken in large numbers between 5 and 15 fathoms. 

 South of New York, however, it appears to be 

 essentially a deei>er-water species, occurring in 

 water beyond the 20-fathom line. This evidently 

 explains the paucity of records for this species 

 south of New York, since so little trawling is car- 

 ried on farther south in deep water. (At the 

 northern extreme end of its range it possibly also 

 occurs in deep water only, judging by the record 

 from off Nova Scotia mentioned in the preceding 

 paragraph.) The greatest depth at which it was 

 taken is 239 fathoms (33023). 



Biology. — No comprehensive study of this 

 flounder was ever published and very little is 

 known about the life history of the species. Smith 

 (1898) states that : "The fish spawns in May and 

 its eggs have been exjierimentally hatched at 

 Woods Hole. The eggs are buoyant, one-twenty- 

 sixth of an inch in diameter, and hatch in eight 

 days in water having a mean temperature of 51° 

 to 56° F." Bigelow and Schroeder (1936) record 

 the cajjture of ripe specimens in mid-July. Some 

 pelagic larvae taken by Bigelow and Welsh ( 1924) 

 off the coast of New Jersey on July 19 and August 

 1, 1913, 8 to 11 mm. have been tentatively identified 

 by those authors as belonging to this species. 

 B'ish of about 40 mm. are taken on the bottom with 

 dredges or trawls. 



The National Museum has a number of young 

 fish for some of which the dates of capture are 

 known. Since it is quite likely that no extensive 

 study of this species will be undertaken for some 

 time to come, it seems desirable to work up the 



