294 



UNDERWATER GUIDE TO MARINE LIFE 



Sqiiirrel ling. 



The California tomcod, Microgadiis inoximus, is found from Monterey to the 

 Aleutian Islands. 



SQUIRREL ling: Phjcis chiiss 



Size: Up to 21/2 feet. 



Weight: Up to 8 pounds. 



Distribution: From the St. Lawrence to Virginia. 



Identification: The shape is elongate, with two dorsal fins, the second much 

 longer than the first. There is a single anal fin. The ventral fins are long and 

 slender and reach the anal fin. 



Habits: This fish keeps close to the bottom in waters from moderate depths 

 to 1,800 feet. Its food consists mostly of small crustaceans and fishes. It lays float- 

 ing eggs, and the young supposedly seek shelter in the mantle cavity of the 

 ocean scallop. Pectin gigantea. 



Similar Species: There are many species of elongate cods, all of which have 

 the codlike head and single chin barbel, and which have only one or two dorsal 

 fins and are usually nonschooling fishes of deep waters out of the range of the 

 diver. The lings, Phycis, form the largest and most common group of these and 

 are, perhaps, most likely to be encountered. Also included are the rocklings, 

 burbots and cusks. (We must refer the reader to the Bibliography for identifica- 

 tion of these.) They range from the arctic south to the Gulf of Mexico. The 

 elongate forms of the Pacific are of deep-sea waters. 



Flatfishes: Suborder Heterosnmota {"differing body") 



The suborder name is a masterpiece of understatement, for these fishes differ 

 completely in body symmetry from all other fishes. Their head is twisted so that 

 both eyes are on one side. If the eyes are on the right side, the fish is said to 

 be "dextral." If the eyes are on the left side, the fish is said to be "sinestral." 

 Occasionally, a single species shows both dextral and sinestral indixiduals (the 

 starry flounder, for instance). Some efforts have been made to correlate tem- 

 perature with the presence of eyes on one side or the other. The eyed side of 

 flatfishes is the up side, both when the fish swims and when it rests on the 

 bottom. This side is pigmented, while the down side, or blind side, is white. 

 Flatfishes are among the most adept of all fishes at changing their colors to match 

 their environments. The color and texture of the substrate are matched very 

 closely as they lie motionless on the bottom waiting to ambush their prey. (The 



