402 SCANDINAVIAN Fl.NUKS. 



colouved \arietv {Plafessa caniaii(i), ^vitll irregularly 



dispersed, dark spots. Norojiann deseril)es (1. e.) a 

 PL ^Hesus, var. mannorata, from the Black Sea, in ^\•ili(•ll 

 the eye side was milk-white, with irregular, verinit'orni 

 and roundish, brown s])ots, edged with orange. 



The Flounder is the coninionest species of the genus, 

 hotli in the North Sea and tlie lialtic. Even in the 

 island-belt of .Stockh<ilni and off Aland it is common, 

 as well as in the west of the (iulf of Finland and in 

 the south and central parts of the Gnlf of JJothnia. 

 From Hudiksvall Dr. ^^'lsTI!0^l has forwarded to the 

 Royal Museum specimt'iis up to a length of -t'l cm. 

 North of Qvarkeu or, according to Mela, in Lat. 64°N., 

 however, it becomes extremely rare, if indeed it occurs 

 at all in this nortiiei'umost j)art of tiie (julf of liothnia. 

 in the Atlantic it is ei|uallv common all round Europe, 

 from the White Sea to the Black Sea. Lieutenant 

 Saxdebkkc l)i'ought home luimerous specimens from the 

 Dwina, off' Archangel; and according to his collections, 

 the Flounder there attains a length of at least 30 cm. 

 Strangely enough, it is not yet known Avith certainty 

 ill Iceland" or Grceidaud''; but J'Jciironectcs sfellatiis, 

 which 1'allas found in Kamchatka, Richahdson at the 

 mouth t)f the Coppermine River (on tlie Arctic coast of 

 North America), and Jokdan in California, can scarcely 

 be regarded as a distinct si)ecies from the Flounder. 

 If these forn)S are identical, the species must attain a 

 far more advanced stage of development in the Pacific, 

 and a far greater \alue in California, than it does here. 



Tlie Flounder prefers a. sandy, soft, or weedy bot- 

 tom. All the sununer it lives in shallow water, and 

 retires to deeper water oidy in Avinter, when it is sel- 

 dom to be found near shore. It lives chiefly on mol- 

 hisks and crustaceans. It surpasses its kindred species 

 in the capability which it possesses in a high degree, 

 of thriving in only slightly brackish or even fresh wa- 

 ter. LiNDSTHoM obtained specimens that had been "pei'- 

 fectly acclimatised to the fresh water of Alnase Swamp" 

 in Gothland, and he also received "ccjnclusive evidence 

 that they live in Ejke Swamp." Into a tributary of the 

 little Ronne, that falls into Skelder Bay, according to 



XiLssoN, it penetrates to a distance of more than 10 

 kilometres from the sea. According to Malm it goes 

 moi'e than '25 kilometres up the River Gotha, and is 

 often taken off' Kongelf. It also ascends the tiny stream 

 Qyistrum in Bohusliin, above the falls at Qvistrum. 

 CoLLKTT quotes a inindjcr of places in Norway, up to 

 the extreme north, where it not only ascends the rivers, 

 I)ut also makes its way into the lakes, and breeds there. 

 Khover and I'eddeusen give similar instances from 

 Jutland, Finien, Laaland, and Zealand. The English 

 writers t(jo, from Willughby's' time, and the French, 

 fi'om Belon's'', also make the same statement with re- 

 gard to the Flounder in their own countries. Siebold 

 (1. c.) has collected observations on this head from Bel- 

 gium and (Germany, where this fish goes a long dis- 

 tance up the Schelde and Maas with theii- tiibutaries, 

 and also up the Rhine, in the watershed of which it 

 has l)cen caught in the Moselle oft' Treves, oft" Mayence, 

 and far u]) the Main. 



In the north of the Cattegat Ekstuom found the 

 Floundei- full of roe at the end of ]\Iarch. In the Bal- 

 tic it spawns in ]\Iay. It j)refers to spawn on shelving 

 coasts. The roe is whitish yellow, and the eggs are 

 somcAvhat smaller tlian those of the Plaice. Collett 

 estimated the number of eggs in a middle-sized Floun- 

 der at 4K),000. According to Hexsen the eggs float 

 freely at the surface, and are from 1'15 to 1"27 nun. 

 in diameter; while the ucavI)' hatched fry are about 

 3'G mm. long, without pigment in the eyes, and with 

 the vent, which lies close to the vitelline sac, united 

 to the intestine only by a. fine string. Oft' Aspo, out- 

 side Carlski'ona, we have found Flounder fry between 

 19 and 32 mm. long at the middle of July. In the 

 Cattegat, "at midsummer', Khovek found young spe- 

 cimens between 65 and 78 nun. long, which he as- 

 sumed to belong to tlu' f'i-\- of the same year". Some 

 young s])ecimens 130 nun. long tiiat were taken on 

 the same occasion, he considered to date frcnii the 

 spawning-season of the previous year. 



As an article of food the Flounder is one of those 

 Flatfishes that are in least request, thougli it is gener- 



" FAniiU {Nutiirfj. Fisch. hi., p. 144) included it aninng tlie fishes of Ieel:nid wiUi trreni liesitatidii nnd (nily on the authority of 

 prior stntenients by Olavius and JMoilii. Ho never met with it himself in Iceland. 



'' Couch states (///*■«. Fish. Brit. Isl.. vol. Ill, p. lO.'J) that the Flounder is known in Greenland, hut he gives no authority for his 

 stalcnient; and it is not iiiclu(h;(l in Li'l'KKN's list of the ii.shes of Greeidand (liev. ('at. 187.0). 



'■ I/i.it. Pisciuiii, p. 08. 



'' Passer f/iivititil/s, vulgo j/e.<iiis, Bki.cj.n: JJe Aipuit., p. 144. 



"■ Cf. the rtinarUs on the growtli of the fry of the preceding species. 



