FISHES OF CHESAPEAKE BAY 
165 
58. Genus PARALICHTHYS Girard. Summer flounders 
Body oblong; eyes and color normally on left side; mouth large, oblique; jaws with a single 
row of sharp teeth; no teeth on vomer or palatines; gill rakers rather long; lateral line simple, with 
a strong curve anteriorly; scales small, cycloid or ctenoid; dorsal fin beginning before eye, its anterior 
rays produced; caudal fin double concave or double truncate; no anal spine; both ventral fins 
lateral. A single species of this large genus is included in the Chesapeake fauna. 
77. Paralichthys dentatus (Linnaeus). Flounder; Summer flounder; Fluke; Plaice. 
Pleuronectes dentatus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. XII, 1766, p. 458. 
Chsmopsctta oeellaris Uhler and Lugger, 187C, ed. I, p. 96; ed. II, p. 80. 
Paralichthys dentatus Bean, 1891, p. 85; Smith, 1892, p. 72; Iordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 2629, PI. CCCLXXIII, fig. 
922; Evermann and Hildebrand, 1910, p. 163; Fowler, 1918, p. 19. 
Head 3 to 3.95; depth 2.15,to 2.45; D. 85 to 94; A. 60 to 73; scales 92 to 105. Body moderately 
elongate; dorsal and ventraljjoutlines about evenly convex; head rather large; snout pointed, 4.05 to 
5 in head; eye 3.35 to 5.7; interorbital varying greatly in width with age, narrower than pupil in 
very young, about three-fourths width of eye in large examples; mouth large, oblique; the jaws some- 
what curved; maxillary reaching beyond eye in specimens ranging upward of 180 millimeters, not 
reaching posterior margin of eye in young, 2 to 2.6 in head; teeth rather prominent, pointed, in a 
Fig. 86 . — Paralichthys dentatus. From a specimen 6 ! /s inches long 
single series in each jaw; gill rakers rather long and slender, 14 to 18 on lower limb of first arch; 
lateral line anteriorly with a short, prominent arch; scales rather small, cycloid; origin of dorsal 
over or more usually slightly in advance of upper eye; caudal fin round in young, slightly double- 
concave in adult; origin of anal under base of pectorals; ventral fins symmetrically placed, inserted 
under and behind margin of preopercle; pectoral fins moderate, the one on eyed side somewhat 
more strongly developed, 1.8 to 2.1 in head. 
Color brownish, variable, some specimens being much darker than others; most specimens 
marked with dark ocellated spots, the most prominent of these situated on posterior part of body, 
three of these forming a triangle with the apex directed forward, the anterior spot being situated on 
the lateral line, one of the posterior ones over posterior part of base of anal and the other under 
posterior portion of base of dorsal, these spots often extending on head; fins mostly uniform, some- 
times more or less spotted with brown, pale, and dusky specks and bars. 
Numerous specimens of this species, ranging in length from 20 to 445 millimeters to 17J4 
inches), were preserved. The smallest specimen at hand already has the eyes well on one side, and 
it has essentially the form of the adult. The summer flounder resembles the winter flounder in its 
outlines. It differs, however, in having the eyes and color on the left instead of the right side. 
It also has a much larger mouth than the winter flounder, and the lateral line has a distinct arch 
anteriorly. The rather distinct dark spots on the body of the summer flounder usually are con- 
venient for identification in the field. The three most posterior ones form a triangle, the anterior 
