45 



is yellow. It is a very broad species, in this respect rivaling and 

 even exceeding PlaticJithys stellatus (the " flounder"), the width being 

 nearly or quite half of the breadth. Another characteristic may be 

 found in the teeth, which, instead of being a single row, form several 

 rows, a character shared only by one other of our flat-fishes, Pleuro- 

 nichthys coenosus, which differs widely in the color, as well as in 

 having tlie dorsal fin continued downwards along the blind side 

 of the head, and in the very much larger eyes. _ The number of 

 rays in the dorsal varies from 66 to 72, and those in the anal from 

 47 to 54, a range which, had the two extremes fallen into the hands 

 of two diff'erent naturalists, might well have led them to make two 

 species. Nor has this fish, short as has been its literary history, 

 escaped from a synonym. It was first, described by Girard (Pacific 

 Railroad Report, vol. 10, p. 152), who attributed to it 67 dorsal and 

 47 anal rays, and gave its color as "greyish, or lead, sprinkled all 

 over with black dots and whitish spots." In 1862 Dr. A. Glinther 

 re-described it, under the name of Parophrys ayresii (Catalogue of 

 Fishes, British Museum, vol. IV, p. 456), yet admitted Pleuronedes 

 guttulatus as a species. The insufficient description of Girard was 

 doubtless the cause of this error. Girard's specimen came from 

 Tomales, and I am informed that it is in the neighborhood of 

 Tomales Bay that most of the turbot brought to market are pro- 

 cured. This fish is much esteemed, and always commands a high 

 price. 



Pleuronichtliys coenosus, Girard — This is a rare species, and evi- 

 dently inhabits deep water, since the eyes of those I have seen pro- 

 trudes from their sockets, through the sudden change from pressure 

 at tlie depths where they reside to that of the surface. There are 

 three characters about it which render it impossible to confound it 

 with any other species : the very large eyes, which equal or exceed 

 in diameter one-third of the length of the head, from the tip of the 

 snout to that of the gill covers ; the very short, snub snout, scarcely 

 projecting beyond the protuding eye, and the singular course of the 

 dorsal fin, the front part of which, instead of ending upon the dorsal 

 ridge somewhere over the eyes, as in other species, curves over at 

 that point to the blind side of the fish, and continues downwards 

 along that side till it reaches a point level with, and not far from, the 

 end of the maxillary or upper jaw. About eight rays are thus 

 twisted over to the left side. The color also, a uniform warm reddish- 

 brown, is very distinctive. The teeth, like those of the last species, 

 {Pleuronedes guttulatus) are in several rows, and in the form of the 

 body and fins the two kinds are also much alike. 



Girard's original description was drawn from a single specimen,, 

 the only one he had seen. It is taken near the Farallones. The left 

 or eyeless side is not always colorless, but has frequently several dark 

 brown spots or blotches. The dorsal fin is occasionally carried 

 further down on the blind side than is mentioned above, while in 

 other cases only four rays are twisted over. During the winter this 

 species did not occur in the market, but on the 26th of February one 

 of the first of the season was brought to me, and since then it has 

 gradually become more abundant until May, during which month it 

 was as plentiful as Lepidopsetta bilineata, itself a rather rare species,, 

 also brought from the Farrallones. 



Parophrys vetalus, Girard, Sole ; Diamond Flounder— This is 

 another of the common flat-fishes of our markets, and is grouped 



