FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 475 



12 fathoms deep, where it ma}' be found throughout the year, according to Dr. 

 Smith. There is no fishery for it, but numbers are caught incidentally while 

 bottom fishing for other species. In Great Harbor a few are taken in fyke nets 

 only in winter. The average length is about 14 inches. 



DeKay calls it the Rusty Flat Fish. He had a specimen 18 inches long which he 

 believed to be identical with the Rusty Dab of Storer. According to DeKay, the 

 fishermen say it is found only in deep water. The description and figure of DeKay 

 evidently referred to the Sand Dab or Rusty Dab. 



236. Flatfish {Pseiidoplciiroiiectes americamts Walbaum). 



The Flatfish, or Winter Flounder, was described by Mitchill and DeKay, both 

 of whom called it the New York Flatfish. DeKay also described the young under 

 the name of the Pigmy Flatfish. Dr. Mitchill had two color varieties of the Flat- 

 fish. One of these had a yellow margin on the lower side, surrounding the white of 

 that side. This border was 3/^ of an inch wide, and in striking contrast with the 

 pearl of the contiguous parts within it and the brown of the adjacent fins. The other 

 variety, obtained April, 18 15, had " a whiteness of the upper side nearly as clear as 

 that of the nether surface over rather more than half its extent. The anterior part 

 is blanched in this manner. The dorsal fin very sensibly partakes of the lighter 

 hue, but its dark brown is tinctured with yellow, especially on the rays. Something 

 of the same kind though less distinct, is observable on the ventral fins, and on about 

 a dozen rays of the anal." This individual was 5 inches long and 3 inches broad. 



Dr. DeKay obtained a specimen in April which was reversed and double. " Its 

 color on both sides was uniform bronze, with a white patch on its right side near 

 the chin, almost entirely denuded of scales, with the singular protuberance over the 

 eye noticed by Dr. Mitchill in his Mclanogastcry 



The Flatfish is a permanent resident in Gravesend Bay. It endures captivity 

 well and grows rapidly. The young were found abundantly and widely distributed 

 in the waters of Eastern Long Island in 1898. On July 27, 1901, the young had 

 reached the length of 2^ inches. An individual caught at West Hampton, Sep- 

 tember 12, 1901, measuring 41/i inches, was in a condition of incipient albinism. 



At Woods Hole, Mass., the fish spawns from February to April, and its artificial 

 hatching is extensively carried on. Spawning fish are very abundant, and are 

 caught in fyke nets on hard clay bottom in waters 6 to 15 feet deep. The eggs 

 are ^^ of an inch in diameter and when first deposited are very sticky, adhering in 

 masses of various sizes. The average number of eggs to a fish is 500,000. In 

 March 6, 1897, 30 fluid ounces of eggs, numbering 1,462,000, were taken from a fish 



