No. 28. MEGRIM, SAILFLUKE, WHIFF 



Lepidorhombus >iii'^<ist<>iini , Donovan. 

 Usual extreme length : . \hont 20 inches. 



Description: Eyes on the lelt side, head and mouth ot large 

 size, the body itself narrow and thin. Dorsal fin commencing 

 in advance of the upper eye; lateral line exhibiting a sharp 

 upward curve above the pectoral fin. The scales, which are 

 large and spinous, are easily detached ; in an allied species, the 

 Scald-Back, the slightest handling denudes the body of both 

 scales and skin. The coloration, in examples of small or 

 moderate size, is pale brownish yellow without distinct mark- 

 ings; in large specimens there are sometimes present indistinct 

 patches of darker mottling-. 



Thr Megrim spawns from February to May; its food consists 

 largely of small fish and crustaceans. 



Range: Essentially a deep-water fish, the Megrim occurs from 

 the North of Norway and Iceland to the Bay of Biscay. It is 

 not common in the North Sea, but abundant on the West of 

 Scotland and the South of Ireland. 



Remarks: The quantity of Megiir.i landed in Britain of recent 3- cars 

 has shown a steady increase, the species being one of those less well- 

 known flatfishes which are gradually gaining in popular esteem. The 

 species is sometimes described by that somewhat expansive designation, 

 " Lemon Sole," but although of very fair edible quality, it cannot com- 

 pare either in quality or market value with the fish legitimately 

 described by that name. 



The somewhat curious synonvm. ; ' Sailfluke,"' has been given to the 

 species on account of the popular belief that the fish scuds on the surface 

 of the sea in the presence of a high wind, erecting its tail to act as a 

 sail. 



