5134 GLEANINGS AMONG THE PLEURONECTIDS. 



Omitting foreign Hpecies, the following table shows tho European species included 

 by Linn»u8, and the generic names which have since his time been specially based 

 on each of these species: 



Hippoglossus Hippoglossus Cnvivr, 1817. 



Cynoglossus Glyplocephalus Golt ache, 1836.* 



Platessa .Platessa Cuvier, 1817; Plauronectes Swainson, 1839; Pleuronectes Bleeker, 1862. 



Flesus Flcsus Moreau, 1871. 



Limanda Limanda Gottsche, 1835. 



Solea Solea Quensel, 1806. 



Linguatnla Pleuronectes Bonaparte, 1846; Citharus Bleeker, 1802; 



Bothus Rafinesque, 1810 ; Seophthalmua Rafinesque, 1810. 



Rhombus Rhombus Cuvier, 1817 (preoccupied). 



Maximus Pleuronectes Fleming, 1828; Paetla Swainson, 1839; 



Passer Valenciennes, 1855 (preoccupied). 

 Passer (An abnormal specimen of Flcsus.) 



The first subdivision of the genus Pleuronectes, after the removal of the soles, seems 

 to have been that of Cuvier. Cuvier subdivides the group into three subgenera, 

 Hippoglossus, Rhombus, and Platessa, retaining the name Pleuronectes for the group 

 as a whole, but for none of his subdivisions. 



Fleming, next after him, makes use of these subdivisions, but rejecting the name 

 of Rhombus, he distinctly adopts the generic name Pleuronectes for the "Turbot" 

 group. His genera arc, therefore, Pleuronectes the "Turbot," Solea the "Sole," 

 I'latessa the "Fluke," and Hippoglossus the "Halibut." Pleuronectes maximus, tho 

 "Common Turbot," is evidently intended as the type of Pleuronectes, as understood 

 by him. This is, so far as we have ascertained, the first restriction of the name Pleu- 

 ronectes to any group of flounders, and if it be so the name Pleuronectes must go with 

 the Turbot and its relatives. In that case it would take the place of the preoccupied 

 name Rhombus and of the prior but almost forgotten name of Bothus, unless we see 

 fit to place the Turbot and the Brill in different genera, in which case Bothus should 

 be used for the Brill. 



The next restriction seems to be that of Swainson, in 1839, w T ho indicates PI. platessa 

 as the type of Pleuronectes. 



Next is the restriction made by DeKay, 1842, w r ho again makes the Turbot the type 

 of Pleuronectet by adopting the then nearly obsolete name of Pleuronectes in place of 

 Rhombus. In 1846 Bonaparte retained the name Pleuronectes for a group composed of 

 Cithurus. Arnoglos8U8, etc. The ouly Linmean species mentioned by him, liuguatula, 

 may be regarded as his type. 



In 1802 Bleeker, and following him Giinther and nearly all modern authors, have 

 regarded Pleuronectes platessa as the type of Pleuronectes. 



The reason for this view lies apparently in the fact that Artedi before Linnaeus 

 had mentioned the species later called platessa first in his list of species of Pleuronectes, 

 This reason is now regarded as an insufficient one, and the name Plturonectei must 

 retain the signification given it by the first author, who has properly restricted it. 

 We must therefore follow Fleming in regarding Pleuronectes maximus as the proper 

 type of Pleuronectes. 



This historical summary is not complete, and the results to which 

 .Messrs. Jordan and Goss have arrived are a consequence of the incom- 

 pleteness of their review of the literature. 



LINNjEAN species. 



The species occurring - in Europe and known to Linn reus have been 

 correctly identified by Jordan and (Joss, but a complete enumeration of 



* This was published at the same time as Limanda, i. e., 1835. 



