Jordan and Evermann. Fishes of North America. 2701 



eye; right lower lip fringed; eyes very small, the upper one in advance of 

 the lower; nostril ending in a wide tube, nearer lower eye than tip of 

 snout; interorbital space with scales, more than \ eye; head and body 

 scaled with strongly ctenoid scales, none of them with hair-like append- 

 ages; lateral line nearly straight; gill opening short, about twice as long 

 as maxillary. Origin of dorsal on tip of snout ; last few rays of dorsal 

 and anal rapidly decreasing, giving the fins a truncate appearance poste- 

 riorly; pectorals wholly wanting; caudal rounded. Color dusky olive, 

 more or less mottled, and with about 8 dark, vertical stripes, these vary- 

 ing very much in width and in number; vertical fins with the membrane 

 of every second or third pair of rays blackish, besides dark cloudings at 

 base of fin ; caudal with numerous longitudinally oblong spots ; blind side 

 often with round, dark spots, especially in northern specimens, usually 

 immaculate in southern ones (var. Iroivni). Vertebrae 8 + 20=28. South 

 Atlantic and Gulf coast, from Cape Ann to Brazos Santiago, ascending 

 sandy streams in shallow water. The species is the best known of the 

 American soles, and it is common along our coast, ascending the rivers for 

 a considerable distance above tide water. It seldom exceeds 5 or 6 inches 

 in length, and is of but little value as food on account of its small size. 

 Here described from a specimen, 4 inches long, from Beaufort, North Caro- 

 lina. This species has not yet been recorded from the West Indies. The form 

 found along the Gulf coast has been described as a distinct species under 

 the name Solea browni. The differences are not very evident. We have 

 compared a number of specimens from Boston (fasciatus} with others from 

 Pensacola, and find the following differences, none of which is constant: 

 In the Gulf variety (browni) the blind side is always immaculate, while in 

 almost all Atlantic examples (fasciatus) the blind side is. profusely cov- 

 ered with round, dark spots. In 1 specimen, however (11360, Boston), the 

 blind side is immaculate. The darker cross streaks on the eyed side are 

 usually broader and more numerous in southern specimens, and the scales 

 on the blind side of the head rougher. There are no constant differences 

 either in the fin rays or in the scales. We have examined specimens of 

 this species from Boston, Chestertown, Tarrytown, New York, Port Mon- 

 mouth, Havre de Grace, Potomac River, Neuse River, Beaufort, Charles- 

 ton, Pensacola, Mobile, and Galveston. In 1 large specimen from Pensa- 

 cola (11482, M. C. Z.) there is a rudiment of a pectoral fin on the eyed side. 

 It consists of a single ray as long as the eye. (fasciatus, banded.) 



Pleuronectes lineatus, LINN^US, Syst.Nat., Ed. XII, 458, 1766, on a specimen from Charles- 

 ton, received from Dr. Garden ; not Pleuronectes lineatus of Ed. x. 



Achirus fasciatus, LACEPEDE, Hist. Nat., Poiss., IV, 659, 662, 1803, Charleston; excl.syn., 

 description based entirely on the Linnsean account of the fish sent by Garden; 

 JORDAN & Goss, Review Flounders and Soles, 315, 1889. 



Pleuronectes mollis, MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y., 1, 1815, 388, pi. 2, fig. 4, New 

 York. 



Pleuronectes apoda, MITCHILL, Amer. Monthly Mag. and Crit. Rev., Feb., 1818, 244, Straits 

 of Bahama; perhaps A. lineatus. 



Trinectes scabra, RAFINESQUE, Atlantic Journal and Friend of Knowledge, i, 1832, Penn- 

 sylvania, in fresh water. 



Solea browni, GDNTHER, Cat., IV, 477, 1862, New Orleans; Texas. 



