THE FLAT-FISHES 227 



described other ripe eggs of the halibut, in which the capsule 

 was noticeably very thin and punctured all over. Mcintosh 

 and Masterman figure a young larval halibut, after Petersen, 

 in which the more or less symmetrical form of the grown fish 

 is already apparent. According to the same authorities, the 

 mixed diet of the full-grown halibut, which includes fish, is 

 already characteristic of these early forms, which feed on 

 shrimps and young flat-fishes. 



The Long Rough Dab ( Hippoglossoides * limandoides), 

 though showing approximately the same outline as the halibut, 

 and also having the same similarity of teeth on both sides of 

 the jaws, is a very different fish. In the first place, it is only 

 a pigmy compared with halibut, the largest on record not 

 exceeding a length of between 16 and 17 in. Again, the long 

 rough dab is, as its name indicates, a very rough fish, its scales 

 being spinous on one edge. Its lateral line is straight, which 

 further distinguishes it from the halibut. The colour is 

 also lighter, and there are rarely any spots. 



In distribution, the present species agrees closely with the 

 halibut, being plentiful in Arctic seas, but absent from the 

 more southern waters of Europe. In the English Channel it 

 is comparatively rare. 



The long rough dab feeds on crustaceans, sand-stars, fishes, 

 worms, and molluscs, the fishes including smaller examples of it 

 own species. 



The spawning-time lasts in Scotch waters from February 

 until May, March being the chief month. The egg, which 

 was first found in the 1884 trawling expeditions, measures 

 about 277 in., though the membrane surrounding it may 

 have a diameter of as much as ^ in., the intervening space 

 being considerable. The newly hatched larva is less than 

 \ in. In a few days after hatching it has dark yellow bands 

 on the tail. 



* Mcintosh and Masterman give preference to the generic name 

 Drepanopsetta for Hippoglossoides. 



