47 



FAMILY 49. RIBBON FISHES; TRACK YPTERIDAE. 



The only species of this family recorded from Puget Sound is the 

 remarkable fish known as the King of the Salmon, Trachypterus rex- 

 salmonorum (Jordan and Gilbert), (Pig. 106). It is very rare as it 

 appears to be a deep-water species which comes to our shores only 

 through some accidental cause. Its body is from 5 to 7 feet in length, 

 compressed so as to be exceedingly thin and covered with a skin 

 shining like burnished silver. The dorsal fln extends far forward and 

 at its anterior end there is a raised flnlet consisting of four greatly 

 lengthened rays. The eye is very large, and the tail-fin, instead of 

 spreading out fan-like in the usual manner, is greatly elongated and 

 directed diagonally upwards. 



FAMILY 50. THE FLAT FISHES; PLEURONECTIDAE. 



This large family which is represented in our waters by fifteen 

 species contains fishes which are almost without exception of food 

 value, although only a limited number of kinds ordinarily reach the 

 market. 



The members of this family are immediately recognized by the 

 characteristic flattened form, the animals actually swimming on one 

 side, with a corresponding distortion of the bodily structure, the most 

 noticeable change being in the position of the eyes, one of these organs 

 necessarily shifting around from the under side. The shifting of the 

 fins is also rather striking in most cases. 



The forms commonly called flat flshes include two families, the 

 second of these being the Soles (Soleidae). None of the latter occur 

 within our faunal limits, so all of our flat fishes are necessarily hali- 

 buts, flounders and turbots. 



The Halibut, Hippoglossus Mppoglossoides (Linnaeus), (Pig. 107) 

 is our largest and, commercially speaking, most important flat flsh. 

 The ventral fins are symmetrical and the one on the ventral side is 

 not extended along the ridge of the abdomen. The mouth is but 

 slightly distorted, and the caudal fin is lunate. The scales are small 

 and cycloid in form. The lateral line has a bow anteriorly. It attains 

 a length of 6 to 8 feet and a weight of upwards of 600 pounds, but 

 specimens of these dimensions are naturally rare. Halibut are taken 

 within the limits of Puget Sound, but the commercial catch comes from 

 the banks off Cape Plattery or farther to the north. 



Jordan's Plounder, Eopsetta jordani (Lockington), is sometimes 

 erroneously called California Sole. The fins and inouth are formed 

 much as in the halibut. The lateral line lacks the bow at the anterior 

 end and is without an accessory dorsal branch. Two rows of teeth are 

 present in the upper jaw, one row in the lower. The scales are small. 

 The flsh attains a length of 20 inches and is an excellent food fish, but 

 is not abundant in Puget Sound. 



