PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 35 



Specific characters. — Form broadly elliptical, tlie profile contin- 

 uous with the curve of the back; ventral outline from chin to past the 

 veutrals nearly straight, the rest of the outline corresponding to the 

 dorsal outline. Head moderate, shortish ; mouth very oblique, not so 

 large as in ParaUchthyfi maculosns; the premaxillaries on the level of the 

 l)upil Avhen the mouth is closed, the maxillary reaching to the posterior 

 border of the eye ; maxillary broad ; teeth in a straight row, wide apart, 



nnequal, conical, and blunt at tip, their number about ,.,,-, ,,• Teeth in 



the lower jaw irregularly alternating large and small. In tlie n]>per jaw 

 similar, but smaller and less obviously alternating. The middle tooth 

 on the blind side in the upper jaw the largest. 



Eyes large, close together, the lower slightly anterior; nostrils of right 

 side above and in front of lower eye ; upper nostrils turned over on the 

 blind side; posterior nostrils largest, with a conspicuous flap. luterorb- 

 ital space a narrow, elevated ridge, covered with very small scales; a 

 few scales on the posterior i)art of the maxillary, none on the mandible. 



Preopercle with its posterior margin free, little movable ; cheeks and 

 opercles densely covered with small, oblong, cycloid scales. Branchios- 

 tegals 7. 



Gill-rakers short, blunt, triangular, scarcely one-fourth as long as the 

 eye, their edges slightly dentate. There are about 7 of the large ones 

 on the middle and lower i:>art of the gill-arch, some rudiments above. 

 (There are about 24 long and slender gill-rakers in Paralichthys maculo- 

 sus.) 



Lateral line without dorsal branch, with a broad curve above the pec- 

 torals. Scales quite small, oblong, cycloid, thin and membraneous ; little 

 imbricated except behind, and somewhat imbedded in the skin, with some 

 smaller supernumerary scales, especially below; scales much smaller 

 on the thoracic region than on the sides. Scales of right and left sides 

 similar. A series of small scales extending up each ray of the vertical 

 fius. 



Lateral line with about 123 scales, pierced by tubes; number of rows 

 of scales perhaps a little greater than the number of tubes. 



Dorsal fin beginning just in advance of the middle of the puj^il, its 

 first ray slightly turned toward the blind side ; some of the anterior rays 

 turcate; most of the rays simjile; the fin rather low in front, gradually 

 becoming higher to a point near the middle of the body, thence regu- 

 larly diminishing behind, the last ray being near to the base of the caudal ; 

 the caudal peduncle very short ; anal flu similar, its highest ray opposite 

 the highest of the dorsal ; a weak antrorse spine at beginning of anal ; 

 veutrals shortish, reaching i^ast front of anal ; pectoral of right side, 

 about as long as head, that of left side half as long. Caudal flu some- 

 what double-truncate, with rounded angles, the middle rays being pro- 

 duced. 



Fin-rays : Dorsal, 82 ; anal, Gi ; ventrals, 7. 



