720 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



small fishes when they are congregated in schools. I have seen 

 large individuals cautiouslj^ wriggling their way upward in the 

 concealment of a wharf pile till within easy reach of a shoal 

 of silversides, when a sudden dart into the midst of the school 

 would result in the capture of a fish, and the flounder would 

 leisurely sink to digest its victim and prepare for another 

 onslaught. It has been known to reach a weight of 26 pounds. 

 Dr Goode has seen individuals measuring 3 feet in length. The 

 fish is caught largely in weirs and traps. It is probable that 

 more of them are taken in Vineyard sound and in Ehode Island 

 waters than on any other parts of our coast. The fishing season 

 extends from May to October. They are carried alive in well- 

 ■smacks to the markets. Menhaden is the bait principally used 

 for the capture of the fluke by hook and line. 



361 Paralichthys lethostigmus Jordan & Gilbert 

 Southern Flounder 



Platessa oUonga De Kay, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 299, pi. 48, fig. 156, 1842, New 



York, not Pleuronectes oblongus Mitchill. 

 Paralichthys dentatus Jordan & Gilbert, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 822, 



1883. 

 Paralichthys lethostigma Jordan & Gilbert, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 237, 



1884. 

 Paralichthys lethostigmus Jordan & Evermann, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 



Ill, 2630, 1898. 



Body ovate, its depth contained two and one third times in its 

 total length without the caudal; length of head about three and 

 one half times in same length; depth of caudal peduncle con- 

 tained two and one third times in length of head; eyes of mod- 

 erate size, placed close together on the left side of the head; 

 mouth large, jaws curved; maxilla reaching past vertical 

 through eye; mandible projecting; anterior teeth of jaws 

 strong; posterior small and close set; gill rakers 2+10, lanceo- 

 late, wide set, shorter than eye; scales smooth, small; dorsal 

 originates in front of eye and continues almost to caudal; anal 

 well separated from the ventrals; pectorals short, less than 

 one half length of head; ventral moderately developed, about 

 two thirds length of pectoral. D. 90; A. 70; V. 6. 



Color dusky olive, with a few darker mottljngs and spots. 



