CHAPTER LIII 
THE ORDER OF FLAT-FISHES 
IiETEROSOMATA 
The flounders, halibuts, soles, plaice, and 
turbots make up the very desirable and important 
Order of Flat-Fishes. When in doubt about an 
English or continental breakfast, order a fried 
sole and you are safe ; for so trustworthy 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 Flat-Fishes, all the world over, 
js 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 presence of both eyes on 
the upper side of the body. The body is so thin 
that “ fiat as a flounder ” is a standard comparison 
wherever the English language is spoken. 
The Flat-Fishes are good examples of pro- 
tective coloring. All these fishes swim and rest 
with their bodies in a horizontal position. The 
upper surface, or back, is always darkest, and 
418 
in many instances it is so skilfully colored and 
mottled in imitation of the sandy bottom on 
which it lives, that when at rest on the floor of 
the ocean or aquarium the fish is almost invisible. 
On the other hand, the under side of the fish is 
white, or cream color, in order that to enemies 
below it, looking upward, it will match the light 
of the upper world. 
As food fishes, the majority of the Flat-Fishes 
are very desirable. Their flesh is excellent, and 
their bones are few and far between. The flesh 
of the halibut is very white and firm, and whether 
fresh or smoked, it is highly 
palatable. 
The common flounders are so 
well known they require no 
special notice. The species most 
common on our coast is the 
Winter Flounder , 1 which is 
caught in great numbers, and of 
all our Flat-Fishes is next in 
value to the great halibut. It is 
a small species, with an average 
weight of about 3 pounds, and 
a maximum of 5 pounds, or there- 
abouts. It has been extensively 
propagated by the United States 
Bureau of Fisheries. 
The Common Halibut 3 is a 
cold-water fish of commanding importance. It is 
widely dispersed throughout both the North At- 
lantic, North Pacific and circumpolar waters, not 
only in shallow waters and the off-shore banks, 
but also on the sides of the sea-bottom slopes 
down to 1,500 feet. In the Atlantic, fishermen 
say the species stops at the latitude of the Dela- 
ware River. The fisheries along the west coast of 
Greenland are so important that regularly every 
year a number of schooners from Connecticut and 
Massachusetts go north, sometimes beyond the 
1 Pseu' do-pleu'ro-nec'tes americanus. 
2 Hip-po-glos'sus hip-po-glos'sus. 
THE COMMON HALIBUT. 
