730 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Genus platophrys Swainson 



Eyes and color on the left side; body ovate, strongly com- 

 pressed; mouth of the large type, but comparatively small; the 

 maxillary one third or less of the length of the head; teeth 

 small, subequal, in one or two series, no teeth on vomer or 

 palatines; interorbital space broad and concave, broadest in 

 adult males; gill rakers moderate; dorsal fin beginning in front 

 of eye, all its rays simple; ventral of colored side on ridge of 

 abdomen; caudal convex behind; pectoral of left side usually 

 with one or more filamentous rays, longest in the male; scales 

 very small, ctenoid, adherent; lateral line with a strong arch 

 in front; coloration usually variegated. 



All the species are extremely closely related and can be dis- 

 tinguished with difficulty. On the other hand, the variations 

 due to differences of age and sex are greater than in any other 

 of our genera. 



367 Platophrys ocellatus (Agassiz) -• 



Sand Flounder 



Rhombus ocellatus Agassiz, Spix, Pise. Brasil. 85. pi. 46, 1829, Brazil. 

 PlatopTinjs ncbularis Jordan & Gilbert, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 31, 143, 



1884, Key West; Goode & Beax, Oceanic IcMh. 441, 1896. 

 Rhomboidiclithys ocellatm Gunther, Cat. P'ish. Brit. Mus. IV, 433, 1862; 



POEY, Syn. Pise. Cubans. 408, 1868. 

 Platophrys ocellatus Swainson, Nat. Hist. Class'n Fishes, II, 302, 1839; 



Bean, 19th Rep. Comm. Fish. N. Y. 247, 1890; Jordan & Evermann, 



Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. HI, 2663, 1898; IV, pi. COCLXXXII, fig. 939, 



1900. 



Body rhomboid ovate, its depth one half of the total length; 

 length of head one fourth of total without caudal; mouth small, 

 oblique; eyes large, the diameter of the upper eye contained two 

 and two thirds times in length of head, almost equal to depth 

 of caudal peduncle; teeth conic, the upper jaw with two series, 

 the lower with one; the dorsal fin originates a short distance 

 from tip of upper jaw and continues to caudal; ventral origin 

 on a vertical through front of eye; the ventral and anal sepa- 

 rated hy a short space; pectoral of eyed side about equal in 

 length to caudal; scales of moderate size, those of colored side 



