FLOUNDER  , a

common term for flat-fish . The name is also more specially given to certain varieties, according to local usage . Thus the Pleuronectes flesus is the common flounder of English terminology, found along the coasts of northern Europe from the Bristol Channel to Iceland . It is particularly partial to fresh water, ascending the Rhine as' fat as Cologne . It rarely exceeds a length of 12 in. or a weight of 14 lb . In American terminology the principal fish of the name are the " summer flounders " or " deep-sea flounders," also known in America as " plaice " (Paralichthys dentatus), as long as 3 ft. and as heavy as 15 lb; the four-spotted flounders " (Paralichthys oblongus) ; the "common" or "winter" flounder (Pseudopleuronectes amerkanus); the " diamond flounder " (Hysopsetta guttulata) ; and the " pole flounder " (Glyptocephalus cynoglossus) .