OBSERVATIONS OX SOME WEST-COAST FISHES. 1()1 



away or be worn out. As the cartilaginous frame- 

 work of the sharks and rays does not offer great 

 opposition to a struggling victim caught by the 

 outer row of teeth, these are frequently lost, as 

 many as half-a-dozen rows of fresh teeth, completely 

 formed, being ready to come forward in large skates. 

 This fish was a very young specimen, the ordinary 

 size being from 9 to 12 feet, while a specimen 

 measuring upwards of 26 feet has been taken. As 

 it is a sluggish ground-shark, the presumption is 

 that it did not travel far, but was thrown originally 

 off the coast. 



Rhombus megastoma, Donov. {Sail Fluke). — A specimen 

 of this fine flat-fish was taken in Lochbuie in the 

 early part of April. It was in bad condition, and 

 bore evidence of having been assaulted by Crustacea 

 whilst on the hook. I have previously met only 

 two specimens of this northern fish in the West of 

 Scotland, both taken in Lochnell Bay. They may 

 be numerous enough, but the very large mouth and 

 membranous jaws render it easy for them to break 

 away from the hook. They are known to the fisher- 

 men, but are not common amongst their captures. 



Zeugopterus unimaculatus, Day (Toji-hnot).— In my 

 paper on the " Topknots " in the Transactions of the 

 Society for 1884 (vol. i., p. 88), this fish was described 

 as Rhombus punctatus, on the authority of Dr. Day, 

 to whom the coloured drawing had been submitted 

 in 1882. I then desired information as to its capture 

 in the Clyde district, but received none. In the last 

 Report of the Fishery Board, a similar fish is figured 

 from the Clyde, where it is captured, as well as the 

 ordinary species with which it is commonly associated 

 as a variety. With us, in Lochs Linnhe and Creran, 

 the unimaculatus is the only species known, and on 

 rocky ground it is not uncommon comparatively. 

 The spot on the lateral line is, in our specimens, 

 much more marked and brilliant than that figured 

 in the Report of the Fishery Board, 1886, pi. ix. 



