344 Remarks on the Natural History of Fishes. 



calls incorrectly ^^muraena conger ;" but more of this in its ap- 

 propriate place. 



Five species are mentioned in the family "Pleuronectes," 

 but one of these, " Hippog.lossus vulgaris'''' — holibut, is found 

 on our coast. 



Under the head of " Platessa vulgaris,'''' our compiler gives 

 the appearance and habits of the European flounder, and says 

 " it is one of the most common fish in Massachusetts Bay ;" and 

 for a figure, he introduces a wretched copy of Strack's plate of 

 the " P. vulgaris"" — plaice ! 



Two pages beyond, we have a copy of the '^flesus^^ — "floun- 

 der, from Strack, described as the '^plaice; and both the floimder 

 and plaice described as the " Platessa vulgaris.^' It will at once 

 be perceived that these two copies of foreign fishes should be 

 transposed : the plate on page 214 should take the place of that 

 on page 216, and vice versa. Neither of these species however, 

 the " vulgaris^' nor ^'flesus^' is found with us. 



Reference is made on page 216, to a species which is called 

 the " Atnerican turhot,'" supposed to be the " European pearl,^^ 

 it is the " Rhomhus aquosus^^ — " watery fl,ou7ider" 



Neither the " Solea vulgaris'''' — " Sole," nor " Rhombus max- 

 imus" — " Turhot,''^ were ever seen by any of our fishermen 

 upon this coast ; the opinion was so firmly established, that what 

 is called in our market the " turhoC was the same as the foreign 

 turbot, that I could not persuade the fishermen that they were not 

 identical ; it was only when two fine specimens were brought here 

 the last season, of the true turbot, from the the coast of Ireland, 

 that they were satisfied of their mistake ; and even then, one of 

 the most experienced of their number insisted that although they 

 differed, the only difference was this, that wherever a white spot 

 existed in the American fish, a spine took its place in the foreign 

 species, and that opinion he still entertains, although our fish is 

 oblong in its form, and the turbot is nearly circular. 



The " Cyclopterus minutus" is probably the young of the 

 "vulgaris.'" Although the " Echeneis remora," is here intro- 

 duced with a plate from Strack, it has not yet been found in our 

 wate.s. 



Twenty pages are devoted to the " anguilla vulgaris'''' and 

 "muraena conger," neither of which is found on the coast of 

 New England. The former has been mistaken for the " inura- 



