126 



Haivaiian Fishes 



along the margins of the body just in front of the tail. It reaches a 

 length of about five inches and was taken off Molokai between 43 and 

 73 fathoms. Only two or three specimens of this fish have ever been taken. 



THE SOLE FAMILY 



57 Family Soleidae (Cynoglossidae) 



The soles are small fishes very closely related to the flounders, but 

 much more degenerate. They have their bodies twisted so that they swim 

 with their left side up. The upper or left side is colored and contains the 

 eyes while the lower or right side is blind and usually whitish in color. 



In general, there are three kinds of soles included in tliis family. They 

 are the American or broad soles, the European soles which are more 

 elongated, and the tongue fishes. The flounders are distinguished by a 

 bony ridge between their eyes which the soles do not possess. The tongue 

 fishes have eyes which are very close together and appear to have a 

 continuous fin around the rear end of the body. Most of the species of 

 this family are small and live on sandy bottoms. Only the larger species 

 are used for food. 



Only two tongue fishes belonging to this family are known from the 

 Hawaiian Islands. 



Rare Tongue Fish 



57-1 Symphurus undatus Gilbert 



Drawn from Gilbert 



This tongue fish was described as a warm brown color and as marked 

 with light olive brown streaks which run in all directions forming a 

 network over the upper side. It measured about four inches in length 

 and was taken off Oahu between 154 and 195 fathoms. Only two 

 specimens of this fish are known to scientists. 



