162 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 



Season in R. I.: May to the end of October. Much more abundant in 

 summer than the wmter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) . 



Food: Small fishes, especially butter-fish and scup; also Crustacea, 

 molluscs, squid, sand-dollars. 



Reproduction: Practically nothing is known of its breeding habits, but 

 it is thought to spawn in deep water in winter, probably toward the 

 southern part of its range. 



Rate of Growth: Specimens under nine inches are not taken in northern 

 waters. Seal found specimens 1 to 1^ inches in length at Point Look- 

 out, Maryland, in May, 1890, and in September, 1889, he took speci- 

 mens five to ten inches long at St. Jerome, Maryland (Bean, 1891). 

 The average length is from 16 to 30 inches, and the average weight 

 about 2h pounds. Exceptionally it reaches a length of three feet and 

 a weight of fifteen pounds. 



191. Paralichthys oblongUS (Mitchill). Four-spotted Flounder; Flounder. 



Geog. Dist. : Coasts of New England and New York, inhabitating deeper 

 water than the other species of this genus. Common on the coast of 

 Cape Cod ; rare in other places. 



The limits of the geographical range of this species have never been 

 very accurately determined. Its distribution is apparently very limited, 

 since it is not recorded south of New York and has been taken very 

 rarely north of Cape Cod. In 1877 a single specimen was captured at 

 the mouth of Salem harbor by the United States Fish Commission. 



Season in R. I.: Common in May and June in the outside waters. Not 

 common in Narragansett Bay. Specimens were taken off the Rhode 

 Island coast by the "Fish Hawk," in September, 1880, at a depth of 

 100 fathoms. June 5, 1906, a half-dozen small specimens were taken 

 in the Hazard's Quarry trap. 



Reproduction: Spawns in May. The eggs are buoyant, 1-26 inch in 

 diameter, and hatch in eight days in water of 51° to 56° F. 



Food: Crustacea, annelids, molluscs, small fishes. 



Rate of Growth: The young are rarely observed, but in the autumn of 

 1885 and 1886 large numbers two or three inches long were taken at 

 Woods Hole (Smith, 1898). Adults reach a length of fourteen inches. 



193. Limanda ferruginea (Storer). Rusty Flatfish. 



Geog. Dist.: Atlantic coast, Labrador to New York. Reported in 

 Narragansett Bay by R. I. Fish Commission, 1899. De Kay reported 

 this flatfish to be very rare and occurring only in deep water. Re- 



