44 



monly called flounder, is by far the most abundant of the kinds 

 brought to our market, and attains a larger size than any other, 

 except the bastard halibut {ParalicJithys maculosus) and the Hipjjoglos- 

 sus. The eyes and color are sometimes upon the left side, at others upon 

 the right; a circumstance that has rather bothered naturalists, while 

 it has served as a basis for fanciful theories among the fishermen. 

 It may be readily distinguished by its short broad form, the width 

 exceeding somewhat the half of the length (excluding the caudal 

 fin); by the presence, instead of scales, of scattered, rough, stellated 

 tubercles; and by the black bands upon dorsal, anal, and caudal fins, 

 four upon the first, three upon the second, and three upon the last, all 

 of them running in the direction of the rays. It is of wide distribu- 

 tion, occurring along the coast of Kamtschatka, and from thence 

 extending by Behring's Straits, Alaska, and British Columbia south- 

 ward to San Francisco. How far it may occur to the south of the 

 latter point does not appear to be known with certainty, but as it is 

 evidently a northern form, it is not unlikely that its southern limit 

 will be found to be near Monterey, at which point there is a mingling 

 of northern and southern forms, resulting in an extremely rich local 

 marine fauna; rich not only in species of fishes, but in molusca, ech- 

 inoderms, and ccelenterates. The flounder occurs within the Bay of 

 San Francisco, and is brought to market not only from thence, but 

 from various points outside of the heads; some are even sent from 

 Humboldt Bay, but it is said that these are far coarser than those 

 obtained elsewhere, with comparatively less meat, and fetch a much 

 lower price in the market. 



Those taken here attain a weight of eight, ten, or even twelve 

 pounds, but those sent from Humboldt Bay are much heavier. In 

 this species the number of the dorsal and anal fin rays does not 

 appear to be subject to so much variation as in many other flat-fishes. 

 Many of the fishermen believe that they know the reason why this 

 fish is sometimes colored on the right, and sometimes on the left side. 

 It is, they are confident, caused by the moon, and depends upon the 

 side illumined by that orb at the time of fecundation. A far more 

 intelligent theory, but one which yet lacks proof, is held by the fish- 

 ermen and dealers, to the effect that those colored on the left side are 

 females, while those colored upon the right side are males. The 

 same theory is held in the case of the Monterey halibut. The old 

 Russian naturalist, Pallas, first described this species, which was 

 described by Girard in 1865. The identity of Girard's form with 

 that of Pallas was noted by Gill (Proceedings of the Philadelphia 

 Academy of Natural Science, 1862, p. 281), and by Giinther (Cat- 

 alogue of Fishes, British Museum, vol. IV, p. 443). 



PlenroniclifJiys gvttulatlis, Girard, Turbot — This fish, the "turbot" 

 of our markets, is one of the commonest of our flounders, but is 

 usually of small size. Occasionally, however, individuals are taken 

 weighing as much as five pounds, and measuring eighteen inches in 

 length. The color alone is sufficient to distinguish it from all the 

 other species. On the colored side it is, when quite fresh, of a dark 

 olive green, sometimes blotched with irregular whitish spots. By 

 exposure to the air the color deepens to nearly black. The under- 

 side is opaque white, like white lead, but along the margin of the 

 head, from some distance above the eye, and continuing to the anus 

 is a border of bright gamboge yellow, broadest and brightest upon 

 the snout and lower jaw. Sometimes the whole of the under surface 



