458 



SEVENTH REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



inches. The fish spawns in May, and its eggs have been experimentally hatched 

 at Woods Hole. They are buoyant, '/,(, of an inch in diameter, and hatch in eight 

 days in water having a mean temperature of 51° to 54° F. In 1877 a single example 

 was taken at the mouth of Salem Harbor by the U. S. Fish Commission. 



148. Sand Dab iJ^iinaiida fcrriiginca Storer). 



Platessa fcrruginea DeKay, N. Y. Fauna, Fish,, 297, pi. 48, fig. 155, 1842. 



Limanda ferruginea Goode, Fish & Fish. Ind. U. S., I, pi. 49, 1884; Jord.an & Ever- 



MANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus., Ill, 2644, 1898; IV, pi. CCCLXXVII, fig. 929, 



1900. f 



Brownish oIi\e, with numerous, irregular reddish spots; fins similarly marked: 

 left side with caudal fin, caudal peduncle, and margins of dorsal and anal fins lemon 

 yellow. Atlantic coast, chiefly northward. 



■»fVx, 



SAND DAB. 



This is also known as the Rusty Dab. It inhabits the coast of North America 

 from Labrador to New York. DeKay calls it the Rusty Flatfish, which he says is a 

 rare species, reported by the fishermen to occur only in deep water. The specimen 

 described by him was 18 inches long. According to Dr. Smith, it is very common in 

 Vineyard .Sound and observed by him in water from 10 to 12 fathoms deep, where 

 it may be found throughout the year. There is no fisher\-, but numbers are caught 

 incidentally while bottom fishing for other species. In (treat Harbor a few^ are taken 

 in fyke nets, only in winter. The average length there is about 14 inches. In 

 Massachusetts Bay it is a common resident species, inhabiting deep waters in 

 summer, and approaching the shores in winter. 



