FLOUNDERS OF GENUS PARALICHTHYS AND RELATED GENERA 



329 



so tlian in related species. Body becoming deep 

 in lar<re individuals. Sinistral. 



Color. — Body irregularly shaded with darker 

 and lighter. The five longitudinal rows of spots 

 more or less evident, usually diffuse, blending more 

 or less witli the darker shadings, and tending to 

 disappear entirely in large individuals. Xone of 

 the spots ocellated. Sometimes the spots are sali- 

 ently distinct in specimens up to about l.">fl nun., 

 and in such individuals the three spots forming 

 the large triangle are most prominent as in 

 aJhigutfa. but they are not ocellated. The relative 

 intensity of the sliadings on the body is subject 

 to great variation as in related species ; some speci- 

 mens being very light all over, especially in life, 

 and otliei-s being very dark. . After being landed, 

 specimens of this species usually have whitish 

 spots irregularly snowed over the body; these 

 usually disappear after the death of the fish, but 

 are sometimes present also in preserved specimens. 



Small fisli. between 20 and 45 mm., show char- 

 acteristic groups of chromatoi)hores. each group 

 consisting of a blotch-like concentration of minute 

 pigment dots interspersed with coarser chromato- 

 phores. This grouped concentration of chroma- 

 tophores gives a gross appearance of blotches 

 which may be somewhat coalescent. The coarser 

 chromatophores may be also scattered between the 

 blotches, birt they are especially concentrated on 

 them. The characteristic ajipearance of these 

 groups is well shown in Hildebrand and Cable's 

 figure 88. although in most specimens they are not 

 so saliently prominent. One group on the midline, 

 about two-thirds of the distance from the gill 

 opening to the base of the caudal and two others 

 near the angle of ihe curve in the lateral line, one 

 above and one below, tend to be most prominent. 

 The three most prominent groups are in the same 

 position as the three ocellated spots in aJhif/utfa. 

 that is they form the characteristic large triangle 

 of related species, but these spots in the young of 

 Jethostigma are not ocellated. The young of Irtho- 

 rtigma. of about 20 to 40 mm., have the color pat- 

 tern very similar to those of denfatu.s of the same 

 size; but after the material is properly separated 

 some small differences become apparent which are 

 typical of h'thostigma. The two spots at the pos- 

 teiior ends of the subdorsal and supra-anal rows 

 ai'e not as prominent as in dcnfatux; the coarse 

 chromatophores that overlay the dark blotches in 



groups, are cliaracteristically more niunerous in 

 hth<)i<tigm(i: the other blotches on the body, in 

 addition to the three most prominent ones, are 

 usually more distinct than in dentatua. In letho- 

 xtigma the other blotches are sometimes of nearh* 

 equal intensit}- as the three forming the large 

 triangle. 



In still smaller individuals, 13 to 20 mm., the 

 groups of chroniatopliores are more diffuse and 

 so arranged that they sometimes suggest broad 

 cross bands. At about that size, specimens of 

 alhigxtffa resemble somewhat those of lefhostigma. 

 Specimens of 50 mm. or over generally have the 

 color pattern of large fish. 



Spechneixs examhied. — Edenton, Albermarle 

 Sound (collected by B. Schwartz); Avoca 

 (23103) ; Beaufort (51898; also, many specimens 

 from collection of U. S. Bur. Fish. Biological 

 Station) and Cape Fear River (25591); X. C. 

 Charleston, S. C. ( 17119 and 17120). St. Simons 

 Sound, Ga. (collected by W. W. Anderson). St. 

 Johns River (21279, the lectotype) and Apalach- 

 icola Bay (collected by E. Danglade and by me). 

 Fla. Mississippi (8026). Biloxi Bay, Miss, 

 (collected by Stewart Springer). ( )tf Breton 

 Island (collected by Stewart Springer) : Bay 

 Adams, off Grand Terre. Barataria Bay. Bay des 

 Ilettes, Bayou Rigaud, Bayou Fifi, off Grand Isle, 

 Caminada Bay and Callou Bay (collected by me) ; 

 La. Galveston (31028 and 73590) ; Matagorda 

 Bay (fi36.52); Indianola (938S) ; Mission Bay. 

 Mud I.. Hog I.. Oso Bay. Aransas Pass, Harbor I. 

 and Corpus Christi Pass (collected by Jolin C. 

 Pearson) ; Tex. Specimens studied in detail 159; 

 about 100 more examined to check one or another 

 of the im]iortant characters: size of those ex- 

 amined ranging from 13 to 659 mm. 



Geographic distribution and habitat. — The 

 range of the sj>ecimens studied extends from Eden- 

 ton, Albemarle Sound, N. C. to Corjius Ciiristi 

 Pass, Tex. This also represents the range of the 

 records in tlie literature, which are based on speci- 

 mens undoubtedly belonging to the i)reseut species. 

 Extant records in tlie literature north of Albe- 

 marle Sound are evidently in error as pointed out 

 later. It yet remains to be discovered whether 

 the species is continuous in its range around the 

 tip lit the peninsula of Florida. The southern- 

 most records of the species now extant are. Indian 

 River on the east coast and Tampa Bay on the 



