FLOUNDERS OF GENUS PARALICHTHYS AND RELATED GENERA 



307 



specimens studied have been obtained in the mar- 

 ket at Callao, Peru ; but tliere does not seem to be 

 anj' data extant as to its abundance or the quanti- 

 ties marketed. 



Pseitdorhombiis aduprrsiis STEixDACnxER, Sitzb. Akad. 

 Wiss. Wien 55 (1) : TOO, pi. 2 (Rhthyol. Notiz. 5:9) 18(57 

 (Chiiicha Islands, Peru). 



ParalU'hthiis adttpersux Jordan and Ooss (in part). 

 Kept. U. S. Coniiii. B'i.sh. 188ii: 241), 18S!) (Cullan). Job- 

 dan (in i)art), Proc. California Acad. Sci. (2) 5: ."iOS, 

 1895 (Callao, Peru). — Jordan and Evkjimann (in part). 

 Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. 47 (3) : 2(>27 and 2S72, 1898 (Callao, 

 Peru). — AunoTT, Proc. Aead. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, 1S99: 

 3f>3, 1900 (Coast of Peru). — Steindachner. Fauna Cliilen- 

 .sis 3: 20S (Zool. Jahrb. supp. bd. 6) 1'.in.5 (Juan Fer- 

 nandez, Chile; specific name spelled adxpnstiti). — Starks, 

 Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 30: sm. 1906 (Callao, I'eru).— 

 Thompson, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 50: 411 and 468, 1916 

 (Tome and Lota, (labile; Callao, Peru). — Extcrmann and 

 Kadcliffe, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. 95: 140. 1917 (Callao and 

 Mollenilo, Peru). — Nichols and Murphy, Bull. Amer. 

 Mus. Nat. Hi.-it. 46: .">12, 1922 (Chincha Is., Peru).— 

 Norman, Monogr. Flatfishes, p. 8.3. tiu'. 49. 1934 ( Peru ) : 

 Iquique, Lota, Pescadores Bay, and Juan Fernandez 

 Lsland, Chile). 



PARALICHTHYS CALIFORNICUS 



California halibut 

 (PLATE 9) 



Coinmnti names. — -This species is commonly 

 called halibut in California, a name whiili prop- 

 erly belonj^.s to a distinct and quite diffurent 

 species of flatfish. It is also known as bastard 

 halibut, Monterey halibut, chicken halibut, 

 southeiTi halibut, and alabato. "California hali- 

 but" has been adopted as a uniform common name 

 for this species by the Division of Fish and Game 

 of California. 



DiagnoKis. — Scales on eyed side ctenoid in large 

 as well as in small fish, cycloid on blind side (the 

 ctenoitl scales sometimes extending in narrow 

 bands at the dorsal and ventral edges of the 

 caudal peduncle of the blind side: infrequently the 

 spinidiferous scales spread over the entire surface 

 of the caudal peduncle and the base of the caudal 

 fin on the blind side) ; 62 to 78. Accessory scales 

 present, first appearing on eyed side of head in 

 specimens of about 100 mm., at about 135 imn. on 

 eyed side of body and a little later on blind side; 

 first appearance of accessory scales with respect 

 to length varying with individual fish, becoming 

 very numerous and nearly covering entire surface 

 of noi-mal scales with incieasing size. Total num- 



ber of gill rakes on outer arch 25 to 32, the ma- 

 jority having 28 or 29; usually 8 or 9 on upper 

 limb, frequently 7, sometimes 10 or 11 ; lower limb 

 with 18 to 2;5 gill rakers. Anal rays 49 to 59; 

 dorsal rays 66 to 76. Pectoral rays usually 12, 

 frequently 11 or 13 (12 on lioth sides in 15 speci- 

 mens; 11 in 3; 13 in 2; 11 on blind side and 12 

 on ej'ed side in 4 : 12 on blind side and 11 on other 

 in 1 : 12 on blind side and 13 on the other in 3). 

 Origin of dorsal over anterior margin of pupil in 

 specimens 50 to 85 mm., over space between an- 

 terior margin of eye and that of pupil in specimens 

 90 to 175 mm., generally- over anterior margin of 

 eye in specimens 175 to 800 mm., distinctly in 

 front of eye in 1 specimen 473 mm., considerably 

 in front in 1 specimen 570 mm. Posterior ex- 

 tremity of maxillary usually falling on a vertical 

 through middle of eye or posterior margin of 

 pupil in specimens 55 to 85 mm., through posterior 

 margin of pupil to that of eye in fish up to about 

 150 mm., usuallj^ to posterior margin of eye in 

 specimens 150 to 200 mm. and somewhat beyond 

 eye in larger fish. Body rather slender or of 

 medium depth; head and maxillary rather short. 

 Often dextral. (Out of 123 fish examined, 77 

 were sinistral and 46 were dextral. It is to be 

 noted that in lots of specimens of approximately 

 the same size taken on the same date at the same 

 locality, evidently from the same school having 

 the same origin, the fish are preponderately either 

 sinistral or dextral, suggesting that this character 

 is of an hereditary nature). 



Color. — Ocellated spots present in some of the 

 small specimens examined, most of the others evi- 

 dently faded from long immersion in preservative, 

 and the frequencj' of occiu-rence of ocellated spots 

 in fresh specimens is problematical. The rows of 

 other spot.s, where present, are often more or less 

 irregular. In (hose specimens in which the ocel- 

 lated spots are pre.sent the three spots forming the 

 larger triangle are often more prominent than the 

 others, and sometimes present in specimens having 

 no other ocellated spots than those three. A 

 longitudinal, somewhat curved, row of six, white, 

 small spots under and along the dorsal profile, 

 beginning at a point over the preopercle and end- 

 ing near the end of the dorsal; and a similar but 

 usually less well-marked row over the base of the 

 anal. These spots are frequently persistent in 



