The Bastard Halibuts 



has by most writers been confounded with the southern flounder 

 from which it is most easily distinguished by its more numerous 



gillrakers and mottled colouration. They are usually found in a 

 depth of 2 to 20 fathoms, in winter they move into deeper water. 

 The largest example of which we have seen a record weighed 

 26 pounds. 



The most extensive fisheries for this fish are on the New 

 England Coast. Great numbers are sometimes caught in seines 

 along shore, though favourite fishing-grounds are on sandy bottom, 

 in 15 to 20 fathoms about Block Island, Marthas Vineyard, and 

 the eastern end of Long Island. 



The colour of this flounder in life is a light olive-brown, 

 with numerous small white spots on body and vertical fins; 

 sometimes a series of large white spots along bases of dorsal 

 and anal fins; about 14 ocellated dark spots on side. 



The southern flounder, P. lethostiginus, is close to the summer 

 flounder with which it has often been confounded. It is the 

 common large species usually abundant from Charleston south- 

 ward and along the entire Gulf Coast. We have collected it in 

 Indian River and at Tampa, and Mr. Silas Stearns found it 

 abundant in shoal water on the west coast of Florida in summer. 



The Gulf flounder, P. albJgiitUis, is rather common on the 

 South Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. It resembles 

 the southern flounder in having few gillrakers, and the summer 



527 



