FLOTJXDERS OF GEXL'S PARALICHTHYS AND RELATED GENERA 



309 



stretched. In other sections of tlic coast, it is also 

 taken willi trawl nets and with hook and line. 

 The connnercial catch is mostly obtained in water 

 from 8 to i20 fathoms in depth. The California 

 halibut is taken in commercial quantities the year- 

 round, but tlie bulk of the catch on the American 

 coast is taken between January and June, with the 

 peak usually occurrinj; during March. Of the 

 total quantity obtained in Mexican waters and 

 landed at American ports, the bulk is obtained 

 between June and November with the peak of the 

 catcli duiin-: Aujrust (Wliitehead 1929). « 



The annual catch of the California halibut fluc- 

 tuates from year to year, as does that of many 

 other fishes. Superimposed on this annual flu<tu- 

 ation, a decline occurred in the commercial catch 

 from more than 4 million pounds in 1916 to 

 1,787.901 pounds in 1947 (Calif. Bur. Mar. Fish., 

 Bull. 74, ]). •2-2Q, 1949). The value of the catch 

 to the Ksherman, for 1947, was $331,218. 



Po/iuhition differences. — The specimens exam- 

 ined make it seem possible that some population 

 differences exist in this species with respect to the 

 fin ray and <;ill raker counts, as shown by tlie fol- 

 lowing tabulation. These apparent differences 

 may disappear when more specimens from the 

 southern range of the species are examined. How- 

 ever, should they be found to exist in fact, differ- 

 ences in the fin ray counts will prove to be of 

 some help in distinguishing this species from 

 aesttuinu«. On account of the possible lower 

 counts of califortiicus in the southern population 

 the relative number of intergrades may largely or 

 partly disappear where both species occur to- 

 gether. (Compare the following tabulations with 

 tables 5 and 6.) 



Anal rays 



Number 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 



San Diego fre- 

 quencies 1 4 5 12 22 19 15 14 4 2 2 



Lower California 



frequencies 12 4 4 2 2 



•^ This (lifffTpnce In the sf*asonal ahnndancp as between Amer- 

 ican and Mt'xicau waters may intssihly he exphiined hy the (ish- 

 crnien resortin;; to the more remote waters oflf the coast of Li'wer 

 California dtiriiig that part of the year, either because the lish 

 become more scarce nearer at home or for some other reason. 

 Another possilih: exphinatiou which it may he well to dieck in 

 any future studies of tlie flounders, is tliat the catch in Mexican 

 waters niay also contain (luantities of aestuariitu, a species which 

 nicurs at the southern end of the coa.st of Lower California and 

 wtuch greatly resembles the California halibut. 



Dorxal rays 



Number 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 



San Diego fre- 

 quencies. 4 6 9 16 14 16 17 6 5 2 1 



Lower California 



frequencies 14 21231 1 



Gill rakers on upper 

 limb 



Number J- 7 8 9 10 11 



San Diego frequencies 10 48 29 3 1 



Lower California frequencies 4 5 11 



Gill rakers on lower limb 



Number IS 19 20 21 22 23 



San Diego frequencies 1 8 35 23 16 5 



Lower California frequencies.. 12 16 1 



PIriironrrIrs mnciilo.iiis Oirabp. Proc. .\cad. Nat. Sci.. 

 I'liiladelphia, 7: I.V.. l.s.'>4 (San I •logo. Calif. The name 

 is a homonym of I'leiironrctes iniKiilosus CimER, Reg. 

 Anim., nouv. ed., t. 2, p. .341, 1S2!); and may also prove 

 to be a homonym of Pleiironectes nuiculosus Groxow, 

 in Cat. Fish. British Miis., edit, by Gray, p. 89, lS."i4, if 

 the exact dates of publication could be ascertained). 



Paralichthiis uuiciilosits Gib.\rd, U. S. Pacific R. R. Exp. 

 Sur. (Zool. ) 10 (Fish.) : 147. Is.xS (.San Diego, Calif.). 



Hiiiiioylosxiif: cfilifoniicii.s .\YitES, Proc. California Acad. 

 Sci. 2: 29, is.-)!) and [p. .".'.tl flg. 10. IStJO (San Francisco 

 Bay ) . 



I'sriKlorhoiiihiis i-iinioniiriis (U'nther. Cat. Fish. I'-rit- 

 ish Mus. 4: 426, 1862 (after Ayres). 



Piiralirlitliys DinriiliiKus GCntiiek, it>i(I., p. 431 (after 

 Giiard). 



I'lopsctta cdlifornirii Gii.i., Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila- 

 delphia. 1SH2: 330 (listed). 



Fitntlichthys iikiciiIoiiik (iii.i., iliid.. isoi: 197 (listed). 



Vrojitftfd cnlifoniicn Gii.i,, ibid., p. 198 (listed). 



Paralichthys ma<-iilosiis Lockington, Rep. Comm. Fish. 

 California, 1878-79: 41 (Tomales Bay to San Diego).— 

 Lockington, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 2: 79, 1879 (San Fran- 

 cisco, Calif.). — Jordan and Gilrert. ibid. 3: 454, 1881 

 (San Francisco, JNIoutere.v Bay. San Luis Obisiw, Santa 

 Barbara, San Pedro and San Diego, Calif.). — Jordan 

 and Gilbert, ibid., 4: 66, 1881 (Tomales Bay to San 

 Diego ) . 



Piiralirhthys californiciis Jordan and Gilbert, Bull. 

 D. S. Nat. Mus. 16: 821, 1883 (CaUfornia). 



PdnilUhthys maoulosiis Jord.^n, Fishery Industries 

 U. S. (by Goode and others), sec. 1. p. 182. 1884. 



Paralichthys cnUfitniiciis Jord.^n and Goss, Rept. U. S. 

 Coinm. Fisli. IssO; iMS. IsS!) (Tomales Bay to San Diego, 

 Calif.). — Jordan and Evermann, P.ull. U. S. Nat. Mus. 

 47 (3) : 2025, 1898 (Tomales Bay to Cerros I.). — Gilbert 

 and Scofield, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 20: 499. 1S98 ( Magda- 

 lena Bay, Lower California). — Stabks and Morris, Pnb. 

 Cniv. California (Zool.) 3: 242, 11X)7 (San Diego Bay).— 

 Metz, First .\nn. Rep. Lagtuia Lab., p. tiO. 1912 ( Ne\%T)ort, 

 Calif.). — OsBi'KN and Nu iioi.s. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. 

 Hist. 35: 180, 1916 (Port San Bartholume, Balleuas Bay 



