394 



SCANDINAVIAN FISHES. 



out over the caudal fin. The occipital branch (supra- 

 temporal, Traquaik) runs, as usual, upward and for- 

 ward towards the beginning of the dorsal fin, and is 

 simple in the great majority of cases, but sometimes 

 (fig. 106) divides superiorly and sends out a small 

 l)ranoh {spfr) in a backward direction. Here ^\■e have 

 a trace of reseiublance to the North American forms, 

 which are distinguished l)y a- more developed dorsal 

 l)ranch of the system of tlie lateral line. 



The dorsal fin begins on tlie blind side, as in the 

 preceding species, but a little further forward, the first 

 ray being inserted, in normal specimens, somewhat to 

 the left of the ])Osterior nostril of the blind side and 

 ill a line -with the anterior margin of the pupil of the 

 upper eye. It ends at a distance from the caudal fin 

 about equal to ' ,, of the postorbital length of the head, 

 and its base occupies as a rule about 84 — 86 % (some- 

 times as mucli as 88 %) of the length of the body to 

 the base of the caudal fin. Its greatest height, situated 

 generally between the -SOth and 40th rays from the 

 l>eginning (on an average at the 36th), is about 12 — 15 

 % (on an average 14 % and sometimes nearly 16 %) of 

 the length of the body iiiiiiKS the caudal fin. All the 

 rays are simple. The anal fin, which is of the same 

 shape as the dorsal, Ijegins below the insertion of the 

 pectoral fins, at a- distance from the tip of the snout 

 that only seldom" attains or exceeds 40 % of the length 

 of tlie body to tlie base of the caudal fin. Its greatest 

 lieight, situated on an average at about the 20th ray 

 from the beginning, is generally about the same as that 

 of the dorsal fin, and the length of its base is never 

 less than 60 '-* (sometimes as much as 68 ?6) of the 

 k'ugth of the body minus the caudal fin. The pectoral 

 fins, which are inserted just below the hind point of 

 the operculum, are rather obtuse and o\al, and contain 

 10 — 12 rays on the eye side, 9 — 11 on the blind side. 

 On the eye side the uppermost 2 — 4 rays and the low- 

 est one or two are sim])le, which is generally the case 

 with all the rays, or at least most of them, the middle 

 ones excepted, on the blind side. The other rays are 

 branched. The first ray is not half so long as the se- 

 cond, and the third or fourth ray is the longest. The 

 ordinary length of the pectoral fin of the eye side in 

 the males is between 13 and 15 % of the length of the 

 body miiuis the caudal fin, in the females between 10 



and 12 % thereof: on the blind side this proportion is 

 about 11 % in tlie males and about 9 % in the females. 

 The ventral fins are more pointed, almost equal in sjzc, 

 and fairly alike in both sexes. They contain 6 simple 

 i-ays, and their length is about 10 or 11 % (sometimes 

 8 or 12 %) of the length of the body to the base of 

 the caudal fin. The caudal fin, the median length of 

 which varies between 20 and 26\/'2 % of that of the 

 rest of the body, is obtusely rounded and generally 

 contains 14 branched raj's'', and 3 simple supporting 

 rays above and beloAv. The vent lies a little to the 

 blind side. The spine at the beginning of the anal fin 

 may sometimes lie hidden, especially in large speci- 

 mens, by the skin. 



The internal organs are in all essential points the 

 same as those of the preceding species. The length of 

 the abdominal cavity is V.; or '/, of that of the body. 

 At the boundary between the stomach and the intestine, 

 at the upper part of the hind wall of the abdominal 

 cavity, we generally find 2 or 3 short pyloric apjiend- 

 ages, and further down the intestine is furnished \\'itli 

 another similar, but somewhat shorter appendage. The 

 intestine forms only 2 coils, the one within the other, 

 and enters only a short distance into the secondarj' 

 abdominal cavity of the eye side. Both the secondary 

 abdominal cavities seem, however, to attain the same 

 length as in the preceding species. In the males they 

 are, as usual, liut little developed. 



The coloration, \\ith the red spots, which are half 

 the size of the eyes or somewhat larger, but have a dark 

 or sometimes light border, which renders them as large 

 as the eyes or even larger, is olive-l)rown or chestnut, 

 but varies as in all the Flounders, being lighter in young 

 specimens — in very young ones light gray, resembling 

 the colour of sand or gravel — and in old specimens 

 usually darker. The arrangement of the spots seems 

 generally to he irregular; but in most cases they lie 

 in longitudinal rows. At least one of these rows runs 

 parallel to the dorsal fin and one to the anal, at their 

 bases, and in j'oung specimens there are five or six spots 

 in the row along the base of the dorsal fin, and four or 

 five along that of the anal. The blind side is white, but 

 in large specimens generally marked ■with scattered, red 

 or brown spots. The tips of the rays in the dorsal and 

 anal fins are also white; and the pectoral and ventral 



" To tlie best of our kuowledgc only in yonng and very large (overgrown) spciiinens. .\s a nile this distance measures 34 — 38 °i 

 (if tlie length mentioned. 



'' Sometimes 13, seldom 12 or oven Kj. 



