THE FLAT-FISH. 389 



back," has reference. In colour, this fish is of a pale 

 brown ; white on the right side, or beneath, as it would 

 be called ; and its greatest length is given as 8 inches. 

 It spawns in spring. 



The Topknot, commonly known as " Browny," is a 



rough-scaled fish, smooth on the uncoloured side. It 



api^ears to be common on all our sandy 

 TcDknot. 



coasts. All three topknots ap^^ear to spawn 



in early spring. 



Another unimportant member of the group, the One- 

 spotted Topknot, which is not known to exceed a length 

 One-spotted of 5 inches, is of reddish hue, having a single 

 Topknot. dark spot on the back and sometimes several 

 fainter spots. The right, or under, side is rough. This 

 fish is further characterised by the long dorsal ray. 



The third and smallest of the topknots, the Norwegian 

 Topknot, of which a mature example has been taken meas- 

 Norwegian uring little over 3 inches, is smoother both 

 Topknot. above and below than the last, and has not 

 the elongated dorsal ray. It is said to spawn about 

 April. 



All the remaining flat-fishes of our seas have the eyes 

 and colour on the right side. The halibut and long rough 

 dab present certain points in common. 



In the Halibut, largest of our flat-fishes, which is 

 taken in our seas weighing as much as 100 lbs., we find 

 the skin smooth and the right side dark brown 

 in colour. The mouth is large and the teeth 

 are pointed, the food of this species consisting largely of 

 ground-fish, crustaceans, and molluscs. Though this is to 

 be regarded as a marketable fish, the flesh is coarse when 

 compared, at any rate, with that of the sole or turbot. 

 According to Cunningham, the halibut spawns in the 



