GEN. SOLEA. COMMON SOLE. 241 



fish, as well as the scientific appellation of B. nudus^ 

 by which Risso designates it. We have very little 

 acquaintance with its habits or history. It appears 

 to frequent deep water, and has never been known 

 to take a bait. The only places in this country 

 where it has occurred are Plymouth and Weymouth. 

 Specimens from the latter locality, where it is called 

 the Megrim^ are preserved in the Museum of the 

 Cambridge Philosophical Society. It is found in 

 the Mediterranean, along with a still smaller species, 

 the body of which is wholly diaphanous. This is 

 the R. candidisslmus of Risso, or as it is more aptly 

 named by Schneider, Pleuronectes diaphanus. 



Gen. LXXXIY. Solea. — The shape of the 

 Soles is not unlike that of the two species last noticed, 

 being oblong-oval, but the body is thick and plump, 

 yielding an abundance of the delicately flavoured 

 flesh so well known and highly esteemed by all. 

 The eyes and colour are on the right side ; and the 

 mouth is, as it were, distorted or twisted to the side 

 opposite the eyes. It is on the last mentioned side 

 only that there are any teeth, and these are fine 

 and velvet-like. The snout is more rounded than 

 in any of the Pleuronectidaa hitherto noticed by us, 

 and the lateral line is straight, except an inconspicu- 

 ous curvature at the very extremity. 



(Sp. 182.) S. vulgaris. Common Sole. This 

 valuable fish may be said to be distributed around 

 the whole coasts of Great Britain and Ireland, but 

 varying greatly in numbers in different localities. 

 It is least frequent in the north, and it is there also 



Q 



