THE FLOUNDER FAMILY. olO 



Petersen counted 104 rays in the dorsal fin, 88 in its anal, 22 

 in the caudal, but he points out that the number in the anal 

 is somewhat greater than in the halibut, and in this and other 

 characters agrees with the witch (Pleuronectes cynoglossus) : 

 yet the mouth is larger and the gill-cover has a row of spines, 

 besides a few scattered ones, so that it differs from the flounders 

 and thus approaches the brill and the turbot. 



When they reach 12 inches in length by 8J inches across at 

 the widest part they are occasionally met with in such shallow 

 bays as that of St Andrews, thus showing that while, so far as 

 known, their earlier stages are passed in deep water, they seek 

 the inshore area and then like the plaice and turbot pass to the 

 deep water in their adult condition. The general colour of 

 these young forms was dull olive marbled with darker blotches, 

 and also with reddish spots and touches which invaded the 

 fins somewhat like the plaice. Such forms feed on young flat- 

 fishes and shrimps. 



THE LONG-ROUGH DAB. (Drepanopsetta platessoides, Fabr.) 



During the Trawling Expeditions of 1884 an egg was fre- 

 quently found in spring, especially during March and April, 

 which was distinguished from all others by the large size of the 

 perivitelline space, that is, the space within the transparent 

 capsule or zona in the early stages of the egg. It was mentioned 

 in the Report on Trawling that these ova were one-third larger 

 than the majority of the pelagic eggs, and resembled hydropic 

 ova. The latter condition, however, was only apparent, and 

 they were in all respects healthy, the advanced embryo with 

 its yolk-sac lying in the centre of the transparent capsule. 

 These eggs were widely distributed all along the eastern coast 

 from the south of St Abbs Head to the Moray Frith, so that 

 they evidently belonged to a common species. Though ripe 

 long-rough dabs were seen in the dead condition in March 1884, 

 and the eggs observed to be pelagic, yet, as this occurred during 

 a violent storm, no opportunity was available of doing more 

 than noting their condition, which, on issuing from the ovary, 

 differs, as will by and by be shown, from their subsequent 



