IIALIBI'T. 



41;^ 



the dorsal edge), another between the 3rd and 4th rays, 

 and a third between the 12th and 13th. 



In their essential arrangement the internal organs 

 resemble those of the preceding sf»ecies; but the ab- 

 dominal cavity is more simple, without secondarv con- 

 tinuations in a backward direction or with onlv short 

 secondar}- cavities to receive the ovaries. The length 

 of the intestinal canal is also less; but a greater part 

 of it is made up of the oesophagus and stomach, which 

 are scarcely separated from each other externally. The 

 stomach not only extends along the whole anterior 

 margin of the postabdominal bone, but also turrts up- 

 wards at this fK»int from the bottom to the middle of 

 the abdominal cavity, where the pvlorus is furnished 

 \nth four large and long appendages, one of them fol- 

 lowing the under surface of the stomach in a backward 

 direction and the other three the small intestine. The 

 liver, gall-bladder, and spleen are situated as in most 

 Flatfishes, but they are all comparativelv small. The 

 urinary bladder, on the other hand, is large, and on 

 each side of it lie the almost svmmetrical testes or 

 ovaries, which, a.s well as the urethra, open into the 

 urogenital aperture mentioned above. 



In young Halibuts (Plate XVII. fig. \) the colora- 

 tion of the eve side is li^ht chocolate-brown, mth wavy 

 patches of a lighter shade. In some cases, the ground- 

 colour is broken bv darker, irregular, but larger patches. 

 The blind side is white. The tins are of the same co- 

 lour as the body, with waves of a darker tint, but the 

 dorsal, anal, and caudal fins are light, shading into 

 yellow, at the margin, and the anterior part of the 

 dorsal fin is white or at least light, even on the eye 

 :<ide. In older Halibuts (Plate XVII. fig. 2) the colo- 

 ration of the eye side grows darker and darker until 

 it is almost black, the colour which we generally see 

 in the fish-markets, v. Wright has endeavoured to re- 

 produce in his figure the slimy coat that gives this fish 

 "a fairlv bright lustre, as though it were varnished"^ 

 (KrOterI. The pupil is dark blue, and the iris veUow 

 with a silvery lustre, but furnished, next the pupU, 1 

 with a ring of a bright golden lustre. 



The Halibut has a wide geographical range, and 

 is strictlv a Sub-arctic (Boreo-arctic) species, the exten- 

 sion of which coincides pretty closely ^vith that of the 

 Cod. These two species are found together on most 

 of the large fishing-grounds in the Arctic Ocean and \ 



the north of the Atlantic and Pacific. Whether the 

 Halibut occurs off .Spitzbergen, is not yet known; but 

 off Bear Island it is common. Even Pall.\s knew that 

 it ^Kcurred on the coast of Kola Peninsula, and was 

 sent from there in winter to St. Petersburg in a frozen 

 condition. He alsfj knew of its fxxurrence in the Pa- 

 cific, between Kamchatka and America. It is common 

 off Iceland and is at least not rare on the coast of 

 Greenland up to Omenak (Lat. 71" X.). According to 

 Be.vn" it is one of the most important fishes in the 

 economv of the natives of Ala.ska, up to St. Michaels, 

 where it attains a weight of 2-50 lbs. Whether it oc- 

 curs along the whole north coast of America or .\sia. 

 is not yet known. On the European side of the At- 

 lantic it seldom goes further south than Ireland and 

 the Channel. Moreau states, however, that it has once 

 (in 1874) been taken off Biarritz (the south-west comer 

 of France). On the American side, like some other 

 Arctic species, it goes south to Cape Cod, to the end 

 of the Arctic current: and according to Bbowx-Goode 

 a few solitary specimens have been found off .Sandv 

 Hook. In the Pacific it is taken as far south as off 

 Vancouver Island and conveyed thence to the fish- 

 market of .San Francisco. 



On the west coast of Scandinavia the Halibut is 

 common, at suitable spots, from the extreme north of 

 Xorwav to Kullen, and in the deep channel, with from 

 12 to 1-5 fathoms of water, in the north of the Sound. 

 Further south, south of Helsingborg. it is rare: bat 

 WisTHER saw solitary specimens caught on the north 

 coast of .Saltholm. It is no less rare in the Baltic, but 

 solitary specimens have been met with even off Kiel. 

 MoBirs and Heixcke mention two specimens, taken in 

 this part of the Baltic, one of which weighed 93 lbs. 

 It has never been met ^rith further up the Baltic. 



Malm gives the foUo^ring particulars of the habits 

 of the Halibut on the coast of Bohuslan: 



"The larger specimens generally live at great depths, 

 and seldom ascend into less than 2-5 fathoms of water. 

 at which depth they are taken on long-lines all the 

 vear round, but chiefly from January to April. The 

 smaller specimens, on the other hand, often occur in 

 much shallower water, where they are caught not so 

 verv seldom in Flounder-nets and on Haddock-lines, 

 at depths varving between 8 and 25 fathoms. I have 

 seen small specimens taken in the seine in 4 or 5 fa- 



« Cat. Fith. U. S. Sat. Mui.. (it. Intern. Fish. Exh.. LoDdon 1883. p. 20. 



