Jordan and Evefmann. — Fishes of North America. 2649 



1038. LIOPSETTA, (iill. 

 (Eel-back Floundehs.) 



Liopsetta, Gill, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Pliila. 18C4, 217 {glaber) ; females. 

 Euchalarodus, Gill, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Pbila. 1864, 222 (putriami) ; males. 



Teetli chiclly iiuiseiial, iucisor-like; scales imperfectly imltricated 

 rough cteuoid iu the male, more or less cycloid iu the female (fiu lays 

 scaly in the male, naked iu the female) ; lower pharyngeals very large, 

 more or less united in the adult, their surface somewhat concave, with 

 teeth iu 5 or 6 rows, large, blunt, chjse set ; lateral line without arch 

 or dorsal branch. This genus comprises several species of small Houuders 

 of the Arctic seas. The genus is distinguished by the large, half-united 

 pharyngeals, as also by the peculiar squamation, the scales in the males 

 being very rough, in the females smooth. This difference has given rise 

 to the nominal genus EuchaJarodus, based on the males, while Liopsetta was 

 based on the smoother females, which were erroneously supposed to be 

 scaleless, (Xe'ioi, smooth; T/nJrra, dounder.) 



a. Dorsal rays 55 or 56 ; anal 40 to 42. 



b. Pectoral fin sliort, J length of head in males, shorter in females, glacialis, 3020. 

 bb. Pectoral flu long, Ik in head in males, nearly 2 in females. putnami, 3021. 



aa. Doraal rays 59 to 62 ; anal 45 or 46; pectoral 1 J in head in males. obscuka, 3022. 



3020. LIOPSETTA GLACIALIS (Pallas). 

 (Arctic Flounder.) 



Head 4; depth 2i. D.56; A. 42. Vorm of Liopsetta putnami. A rough- 

 ened ridge above the cheeks and opercles on the eyed side. Eyes separated 

 by a narrow, smooth, bony ridge. Scales minute, embedded, nonimbri- 

 cate, ctenoid in the males, smooth in the females; si'ales on blind side 

 similar, less developed; scales of lateral line a little larger. Teeth col- 

 ored, incisor-like, forming an even edge, mostly on blind side. An anal 

 spine; pectorals short. Dark brown, the fins spotted. Arctic shores of 

 Alaska and Siberia, south in Bering Sea to Petropanlski, St. Michaels, and 

 Bristol Bay. Our specimens from Port Clarence, Petropanlski, Bristol 

 Bay, mouth of Nushagak River, and Kotzebue Sound; the description 

 from specimens from the last-named locality taken by Dr. Bean. It is 

 said to be abundant in the Arctic Ocean and as far south as Bristol 

 Bay. "Although small, its great abirndance and fine flavor make it impor- 

 tant as an article of food." The male is the rough fish described by Pallas 

 as r. cicatricosiis. The smoother female is Dr. Giinther's I'leuionccies frank- 

 linii, the sexual differences being much as in Liopsetta putnami. Liopsetta 

 dvinensis of the northern coasts of Russia may be the same species. {(/la- 

 cialis, icy.) 



Pleuronecteg glacialis, Pallas, Itin., iii, App., 706, mouth of River Obi ; Bloch & 

 SCHNEIDEK, Syat. Ichth., 150, 1801 ; Pallas, Zoogr. P.osso-Asiat., m, 424, 1811 ; Richard- 

 son, FauuaBor.-Amer., Fish., 258, 1836; De Kay, N.T. Fauna: Fishes, 302, 1842;Stoeer, 

 Synopsis Fish. N. A., 479, 1846; Bean, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mas. 1881, 241; Jordan & Gil- 

 bert, Synopsis, 837, 1883; Bean, Cat. Coll. Fish. U. S. Nat. Mus., ao, 1883; Bean, Nat. 

 Hist. Aquat. Anim., 184, pi. 47, 1884. 



Pleuronectes cicatricoius, Pallas, Zoogr. Kosao-Asiat., in, 424, 1811,, male, sea between 

 Kamchatka and Alaska. 

 3030 89 



