24 



The fishes, the names of which are printed in italics, are not 

 included in the puhlished list by Messrs. Jordan and Gilbert in 

 the Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., because not seen by them, yet by reliable 

 report occur in our waters. It is probable that several additional 

 species of pelagic fishes, especially those of the mackerel and allied 

 families, will be found to occur at San Diego, the marine fauna of 

 which place is largely that of Lower California. 



The ranges given for the species must not be regarded as final, but 

 simply as the range now on record. As there is no fishery of any 

 importance between Tomales Bay and the mouth of the Columbia, 

 it is probable that several species now believed to be extra-Califor- 

 nian occur in the northern part of our State, and that many not on 

 record north of San Francisco extend much farther northward. 



HETEROSOMATA — FLATFISHES. 



Much additional information respecting the flatfishes of the Pacific 

 Coast has been gathered together since the date of the last report. 

 The thirteen species there enumerated have, by the researches of Pro- 

 fessor D.S. Jordan, been increased to twenty-one, seventeen of which 

 are known to occur, more or less frequently, in the markets of San 

 Francisco, and nineteen on the coast of California. TJiree species of 

 the genus Hij)})oglossoides are now known, as well as three of Plen- 

 ronichthys, and the species of Parophrys are increased from one to 

 three, but all the other species are the sole representatives of their 

 genera upon this coast. 



It is the custom of the dealers to lump together all the fiatfishes, 

 except the two kinds called halibut, that known as "turbot," ancl 

 Pleuronedes stellatus, commonly called tlie floiinder, and to sell them 

 all at the same price. Yet it is tolerably well known that the Turbot 

 [Hypsoj^setta guUnlata), the Black-dotted Sole {Psetticldhys mclanos- 

 tidus), and the Long-finned Flounder {Glyptocephalus zachirus) are 

 superior to the others for the table. 



Hijypoglossus vulgaris, Llalibut — The halibut of this coast is now 

 known to be identical with that of the Atlantic. The Farallone Islands 

 and Monterey appear to be the most southern point at which this fish is 

 found, but it becomes abundant off Cape Mendocino and Humboldt 

 Bay, and more so northward of California. It is essentially a northern 

 species, and in Europe occurs around tlie coasts of England and Ire- 

 land, but becomes more abundant at the Orkneys, and is common on 

 the coasts of Norway and Iceland. On the Atlantic coast its southern 

 limit appears to be Massachusetts Bay. It will be seen that on the 

 Pacific Coast its range extends further southward than in the Atlan- 

 tic, a fact probably accounted for by the equable temperature of the 

 ocean along the coast from San Francisco to the Columbia. The 

 mean Summer temperature of the ocean at the Golden Gate is 58° 

 Far., while at the mouth of the Columbia it is 60°, or slightly higher. 

 In the Winter it is 53° off the Golden Gate, and 50° off the mouth 

 of the Columbia. Thus it is evident that the temperature off the 

 Golden Gate cannot be very unsuitable to fish that are at home off 

 the mouth of the Columbia. The halibut is a deep water fish, and 

 does not enter land-locked bays like those of Humboldt or Tomales. 



AVhen the large and abundant supply of this fish is considered, it 

 is a matter of wonder that so small a quantity is smoked or canned 

 for market. There is a prejudice in favor of Eastern halibut, which, 



