REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 161 



Season in R. I.: It is often taken in beam-trawls in winter in the deep 

 water of the East Passage, not far from Gould's Island. Not unusual 

 in deep water off southern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, approach- 

 ing the coast in winter (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1880, 471). 



Reproduction: The spawning period of this species is in March and 

 April on the European coast. The egg has no oil globule and has a 

 very large pre vitelline space. When first laid the egg is a little over 

 1-25 inch (1 mm.) in diameter; later the previtelline space absorbes 

 water and expands to 1-20 inch (1.86 mm.) (Mcintosh and Master- 

 man, 1897). Ehrenbaum gives the diameter of the egg in the North 

 Sea as 1.38 to 2.64 mm. and at Helgoland, 2.7 to 3.2 mm. The eggs 

 hatch in about fourteen days. 



Rate of Growth: The larva at hatching is 1-5 inch long (4 to 5 mm.). 

 Young from J to 1^ inch in length (7.2 to 31.5 mm.) are taken in the 

 North Sea from the middle of May to the middle of July. Young 

 specimens from the west coast of Ireland, three and four inches long 

 (95 mm.) were supposed to be 15 to 16 months old; specimens eight 

 inches long (181 to 214 mm.) are probably two years old; specimens 

 twelve inches long (300 mm.), about three years old (Holt). On 

 the east coast of Scotland the smallest ripe male found was five inches 

 long, the smallest ripe female, seven inches (Mcintosh). In American 

 waters the maximum size of the adult is about 20 to 24 inches. 



References: 



1889: McIntosh, Report, Fishery Board, Scotland, 7, 304. 



1890: McIntosh and Prince, Trans. Roy. Soc, Edinburgh, XXXV, 



853. 

 1895: McIntosh, ibid. 13, 220. 



1896: Cunningham, Marketable Marine Fishes, 244. 

 1896: McIntosh, ibid. 9, 319. 



1897: McIntosh and Masterman, British Marine Food Fishes, 319. 

 1898: Kyle, Report, Fishery Board, Scotland, 10, 235. 

 1905: Ehrenbaum, Nordisches Plankton, 4, 182. 



190. Paralichthys dentatus (Linnajus). Summer Flounder; Flounder; 

 Fluke. 



Geog. Dist.: Atlantic coast; Casco Bay to Florida. 



Migrations: They are found northward in 2 to 20 fathoms of water; 



in winter they move into deeper water. 

 Habitat: Sandy bottoms. 



