172 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
The following young fish were caught in Chesapeake Bay: 
Date 
Number 
of speci- 
mens 
Total 
length, 
inches 
Date 
Number 
of speci- 
mens 
Total 
length, 
inches 
Feb. 19. 
6 
1. 6-2. 3 
Apr. 12 
13 
2. 2-3. 6 
Mar. 7 
1 
2.6 
Aor. 13 
8 
4.1 
Mar. 31 
1 
2. 1 
Apr. 14 
1 
Apr. 10.. .. . 
26 
2. 3-3. 4 
Apr. 15. 
4 
2. 7-3. 0 
Apr. 11.. 
2 
2. 2-3. 6 
May 20 . . . . 
10 
3. 0-4. 5 
The sand flounder is fairly common in Chesapeake Bay, but, owing to the small size attained 
and the extreme thinness of its body, it has no commercial value. The common name “window- 
pane” has reference to the extremely thin body, which in some places is almost transparent. 
A maximum length of 18 inches is reported for the sand flounder. Such a length, however, 
must be very exceptional. It would appear from published accounts that the species grows larger 
in the northern part of its range than farther south. A fish as much as 10 inches long is exceptional 
both in Chesapeake Bay and at Beaufort, N. C., whereas Bigelow and Welsh (1925, p. 517) report 
a usual length of 10 to 12 inches for adult fish. A fish inches long weighs about 1.7 ounces; 
7)/2 inches, 3 ounces; and 8JJj inches, 4.7 ounces. 
Habitat . — Shallow water from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to South Carolina. 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous record: Cape Charles City, Va. ( b ) Specimens in col- 
lection: From many localities from Bloody Point, Md., to the entrance of the bay, common chiefly 
in the southern sections of the bay; taken both in the shallow and deeper waters, ranging up to 
25 fathoms, and principally from September to June. 
62. Genus ETROPUS Jordan and Gilbert 
Body oval; eyes and color on left side; head small; eyes small, separated by a narrow ridge; 
mouth very small; teeth small, pointed, in a single series, few or none in upper jaw of colored side; 
vomer toothless; scales thin, ctenoid on left side; smooth on right side; lateral line simple, nearly 
straight; origin of dorsal over upper eye; anal without a spine; left ventral on ridge of abdomen. 
KEY TO THE SPECIES 
a. Body somewhat elongate, the depth somewhat less than half the length in the adults; gill rakers 
about 13 on lower limb of first arch microstomus, p. 172 
aa. Body more ovate, the depth equal to or greater than half the length in the adult; gill rakers 
about 8 on lower limb of first arch crossotus, p. 173 
81. Etropus microstomus (Gill). 
Citharichthys microstomus Gill, Proc., Ac. Nat. Sci., Phila., 1864, p. 223; Bean, 1891, p. 84. 
Etropus microstomus Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 2687. 
“Body ovate. The depth of the body is contained two and one-tenth times in its length, 
which is three and one-half times the length of the head. Mouth small, very oblique, the gape 
curved; maxillary two and two-thirds times in length of head, reaching beyond middle of orbit; 
snout projecting; eyes small, even, shorter than snout, about six in head, separated by a narrow 
ridge, which is concave and scaleless anteriorly; teeth all small, front teeth of upper jaw wide set, 
much larger than posterior, which are close together and very small, teeth of lower jaw few, wide 
apart; gill rakers short and strong, 13 below angle; pectorals short, less than half length of head; 
scales large, those on middle of sides posteriorly largest. D. 80; A. 61; Lat. 1. 45. Individuals 
from Great Egg Harbor Bay have D. 74; A. 55; scales 41 to 42. 
“Olive brownish, usually with large blotches of darker; a series of distinct, obscure, blackish 
blotches along the basal portions of the anal and dorsal fins. Size small. Tropical America, 
north to Long Island occasionally in summer.” (Bean, 1903, p. 725.) 
No specimens of this species were obtained during the present investigation. The species, 
however, has been recorded from Chesapeake Bay and we also find a reference to it in Dr. William 
