224 MALACOP. SUB-BRACH. FLAT FISH. 



The smallness of the mouth and structure of the 

 teeth confine it to the smaller and softer inhabitants 

 of the ocean for food, such as molluscous animal* 

 or very young fishes. We have mentioned, in the 

 Introduction to our First Volume on British Fishes, 

 instances of the Plaice being permanently trans- 

 ferred to fresh water, where it has been found to 

 flourish. 



(Sp. 169.) P. flesus. Flounder. Even more 

 abundant and more widely distributed than the 

 last, from which it may always be distinguished by 

 having the sides smooth, the lateral line rough, and 

 a series of asperities along the base of the dorsal^ 

 anal, and caudal fins. These asperities consist of a 

 number of small, rounded, stellated tubercles, more 

 or less densely scattered. The body is more elon- 

 gated than that of the Plaice, and the greatest 

 width of the dorsal and anal fins is a little behind 

 the middle, while in the Plaice it is just about the 

 middle. It is generally caught of much smaller 

 dimensions than the Plaice, from seven to nine 

 inches being the ordinary size ; but much larger in- 

 dividuals often occur, and Pennant has heard of 

 them w^eighing six pounds. Mr. Jenyns states the 

 ordinary length at twelve inches and upwards, 

 which is beyond the average size in Scotland. They 

 are found in all the seas of the United Kingdom, 

 from the most southern point to the northern ex- 

 tremity of Shetland, and are also plentiful in the 

 Baltic and North Atlantic Ocean. They do not, 

 however, extend very far north, and do not exist in 



