PLEURONECTIN^ 315 



Platessa aspcrrima, Tcinminck and Schlegel, 1846, in Siebold, V. Japon. (Pisces), p. 177, pi. xci. 

 Pleuronecles aspernmus, Gunther, 1862, Cat. Fish., iv, p. 453; Otaki, 1897, Journ. Fish. Bur. 



Tokyo, vi (i), p. 7, pi. viii, fig. 8. 

 Clidoderma asperrimum, Bleeker, 1862, Versl. Akad. Wet. Amsterdam, xiii, p. 425 ; Jordan and 



Snvder, 1900, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., xxiii, p. 379 ; Jordan and Starks, 1904, Bull. U.S. Com. 



Fish., xxii, (1902), p. 625 ; Jordan and Starks, 1906, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., xxxi, p. 221, fig. 20 ; 



Jordan, Tanaka and Snyder, 1913, J. Coll. Sci. Tokyo, xxxiii (i), p. 331, fig. 279 ; Hubbs, 



1915, Proc. U.S. Nat. .Mus., xlviii, p. 488 ; Jordan and Hubbs, 1925, .Mem. Carnegie Mus., x, 



p. 300 ; Soldatov and Lindberg, 1930, Bull. Pac. Sci. Fish. Inst., v, p. 412 ; Schmidt, 1931, 



C.R. Acad. Sci. Russ., p. 317. 



Depth of body i| to nearly twice in the length, length of head 3J to 3^. Snout 

 shorter than eye, diameter of which is 4 to 4^ in length of head ; anterior margins of 

 eyes about level. Maxillary extending to below anterior part of eye, length on ocular 

 side 3i to 3J, on blind side i\ to 2J in that of head ; lower jaw scarcely projecting, 

 2| in head. Teeth of upper jaw largely confined to the blind side ; sometimes 3 or 

 4 teeth between the two principal rows ; 25 or 26 teeth on blind side of each jaw. 

 10 to 13 gill-rakers on lower part of anterior arch. Skin quite smooth on both sides in 

 ver^' young examples : older specimens densely tuberculated on ocular side. Dorsal 

 82-89. Anal 63-70. Pectoral of ocular side with 12 or 13 rays (9 or 10 branched), 

 length about J that of head. Caudal with 19 or 20 rays (14 or 15 branched), rounded ; 

 caudal peduncle deeper than long. Uniformly brownish ; blind side greyish. 



Type. — Leiden Museum. 



Distribution. — Coasts of Japan, chiefly northward. 



Specimens E.xamined : 



I (310 mm.). Hachinohe, Mutsu Prov., Japan. Tokyo Imp. Univ. 



I (425 ,, ). Tokyo Market. ,, 



(Venu.s 12. HYPSOPSETT.A. 



Hypsopsetta, Gill, 1863, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., xiv, (1862), p. 330 [PUuronichthys guUulatus, 

 Girard] ; Jordan and Evermann, 1898, Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus., xlvii (3), p. 2639. 



Body deep, rhomboidal, compressed. Head without spines or prominences. 

 Eyes on the right side, separated by a narrow ridge, the upper close to edge of head. 

 01factor\' lamina; rather few in number, parallel, without rachis. Mouth very small, 

 the length of the maxillary on blind side about J that of head ; jaws rather stronger 

 on blind side ; lips rather thick, not plicate ; teeth small, slender, acute, forming 

 broad villiform bands on blind side of both jaws ; scarcely any teeth on ocular side ; 

 no canines ; vomer toothless. Gill-rakers short, stout, very few in number ; lower 

 pharyngeals narrow, scarcely appro.ximated anteriorly, each with 3 or 4 rows of small, 

 slightly curved, acute teeth. Dorsal fin commencing on median line of head, just 

 behind nostrils of blind side and above the eye ; most of the rays simple, more or less 

 scaled. Tip of first interha;mal spine projecting in front of anal fin. Pectoral fin of 

 ocular side larger than that of blind side ; middle rays branched. Pelvic fins short- 

 based, subequal and subsymmetrical. Caudal fin with the middle rays longest, 

 scaled on both sides ; caudal peduncle rather short. Scales small, adherent, cycloid, 

 anteriorly more or less embedded in the skin. Lateral line with a very low curve 

 above the pectoral fin ; a supratemporal branch, with a long posterior prolongation ; 

 tubules of anterior part of lateral line much branched. Vent on blind side, a little in 

 front of anal fin : intestine of moderate length ; 2 or 3 -f i pyloric appendages. 

 Vertebrae 35 (11 -f 24). 



A single species from California. 



