CHAPTER LVIl 

 ORDER OF FLATFISHES 



IIETEROSOMATA 



THE flounders, halibuts, soles, plaice and turbots make 

 up the very desirable and important Order of Flat- 

 fishes. Wlien in doubt about an English or continental 

 breakfast, order a fried sole and you are safe; for so trust- 

 worthy is this fish that only the most bungling cook can spoil 

 it. In England the sole is almost a national institution, 

 but on our side its counterpart, the small flounder, is not 

 so plentiful that it attains equal importance on the daily 

 bill of fare. 



The Order of Flatfishes, all the world over, is very large, 

 "containing about fifty-five genera and nearly five hundred 

 species." Among its members some of the halibuts attain 

 great size. Almost any member of this Order is recognizable 

 at one glance, by its broad, oval form, almost completely 

 encircled by the fringe-like dorsal and anal fins, and the pres- 

 ence of both eyes on the upper side of the body. The body 

 is so thin that "flat as a flounder" is a standard comparison 

 wherever the English language is spoken. 



The Flatfishes are good examples of protective coloring. 

 All these fishes swim and rest with their bodies in a hori- 

 zontal position. The upper surface, or back, is always dark- 

 est, and in many instances it is so skilfully colored and 



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