238 



PLEUnONECTID.E. 



Quin, of epicurean notoriety, is said to have given it as 

 his opinion that the flesh on the dark-coloured side of the 

 Turbot was the best meat ; and as examples occasionally 

 occur that are dark-coloured on both sides, some London 

 fishmongers, from experience in their good qualities, recom- 

 mend such fish as deserving particular attention. Reversed 

 Turbots, as they are called, — that is, Turbots having the eyes 

 and dark colour on the right side instead of the left, — are also 

 occasionally brought to market : I have seen two or three 

 such ; but they have exhibited a slight degree of malforma- 

 tion in the form of a notch or depression on the top of the 

 head. The Pleuronectes ci/dops of Mr. Donovan, plate 90, 

 I believe to be an example of the young fry of the Turbot, 

 the head of which is not perfectly formed. 



The number of Turbot brought to Billingsgate market 

 within twelve months, up to a recent period, was 87,958 ; and 

 the number of lobsters within the same period 1,904,000. 



The form of the Turbot, exclusive of the caudal rays, is 

 nearly round : the length of the head compared to the length 

 of the head and body alone is as one to three ; the depth of 

 the body, including both dorsal and anal fins, is equal to the 

 length from the nose to the end of the fleshy portion of the 

 tail : the mouth is large, the direction of the opening ob- 

 liquely upwards ; the teeth small and numerous in both jaws; 

 the eyes in a vertical line one directly over the other ; the 

 whole surface of the cheeks, and all the parts of the gill-cover 

 on the upper or coloured side, studded with numerous tuber- 

 cles ; the operculum ending in an angle directed backwards 

 and over the base of the pectoral fin ; the gill-openings large; 

 the pectoral fin small ; the dorsal fin, commencing by short 

 rays immediately over the nostril and anterior to the upper 

 eye, extends very nearly to the end of the fleshy portion of 

 the tail, where the rays are again short, the longest rays 



