424 



SCANDINAVIAN FISHKS. 



eacli silk' and ,-i |i;iir oi' smaller ones, set close togethei 

 .■it tlie luiddlc. 



Ill the Kiir()]ieaii fonii tiie dors;il tin generally con 

 tains iietweeii 7<S and <S7 or 88 rays. It i 



lighest 



at tlic middle ('/j to ' ., of the greatest dei)tli of the 

 body) and gradually decreases in height towards the 

 ends, all the rays being simple. It begins somewhat 

 over on the blind side, some distance at least in front 

 of flic middle of the eves. Its rays curve, when de- 

 pressed, towards the l)lind side, and as in the preced- 

 ing species with the exceptitjn of the Sole the ])ost.erior 

 ra^s show a decided tendency to lie in a forward di- 

 rection. The anal fin begins a little behind the vent, 

 just behnv' the hind (lowc)') end of the base of the 

 pectoral tin, and is as usual analogous to the dorsal 

 fin in shape and in its l)ackward e.xtension. In the 

 European form it contains 64 — 6fi (exceptionally 60 or 

 68) simple ravs. The hind margin of the caudal tin 

 forms an obtuse but distinct, projecting angle at the 

 middle. This tin conta'ins 18 ravs, ;! or 2 simple ones 

 above and beUnv", and the lattei- ra^•s are alwa^-s con- 

 siderably shorter than the others. The remaining 1'2 

 (oi- 14) rays are onlv once braTiched, and as in all the 

 Scandinavian Flatfishes exce])t the Halibut, are not ca- 

 pa!)le of an\- considerable expansion. In the European 

 form the pectoral fin of the eye side contains Id or 

 11 rays, all, or at least the outer ones, simple. In the 

 latter case the middle rays are oid"\' very indistinctly 

 br;inched at the tip. The pectoral tin of the blind side 

 contains 9 or 10 rays, also simple, or still more in- 

 distinctly liranched than the ravs of the corresponding 

 tin on the eye side. We mav find I'itlier 10 rays on 

 biith sides or 11 on one side and 10 or 8 on the other. 

 On the eye side tlie length of the tin is about ecpial 

 to, or in old females slight!)' less than, half the length 

 of the liead, and the 2nd or the 3rd ray is the longest; 

 on the blind side the fin is considerably shorter, and 

 the bth and 6th rays are the longest. The ventral tin 

 of the l)lind side is generally somewhat, though only 

 slightly, longer than that of the eye side. In form the 

 two ventral fins are alike, being rounded and contain- 

 ing 6 simple rays, the 4th and 5th rays being the 

 longest. They are inserted just in front of the per- 

 ])endicular from the anterior end of the base of the 

 pectoi-al fins. The tips extend to the beginning of the 

 anal fin or a little further back. The vent lies about 



half-way between the insertions of the \entral fins and 

 the beginning of the ;uial tin, exacth* at the \entral 

 edge, but with a small anal papilla, curved obliquely 

 backward towards the eye side. The anal S]>ine projects 

 forwai'd, as usual, from the beginning of the anal fin. 



The scaly covei-ing of the bodv is abundant, most 

 closely resembling that of the Dab. In this species, 

 hmve\"er, the scales are more uniform in size — though 

 they are, as usual, somewliat larger on the hind part 

 of the body and smallest on the head — and, therefore, 

 arranged in moi'e regular ro\\s. At the middle of the 

 body ;ibout oO scales may be counted in an oblique 

 ro^w from the lateral line to the dorsal fin and about 

 o2- — 40 in a similar mw to the anal fin. The scales 

 are almost circular. The free (hind) margin is marked 

 with t^vo small notches, which leave a rounded, obtuse 

 ])rojection l)etween them, and is .set along the whole 

 breadth of the scale with from 12 to 20 or more, fine, 

 subulate spines, which diverge slightly from each other, 

 and ]'cnder the scales rather rough to the touch A\hen 

 .stroked the wrong way. On the blind .side, howevei', 

 most of tlie scales are smooth, ctenoid scales occurring 

 onlv on the hind ]iart of the bod^- and at the bases 

 of the fins. ( >n the eye side of the head only the nasal 

 cavity, the tip of the snout, and the intennaxillary bones 

 (and, of coui'se, the eyes) are naked; but the carina 

 between the eyes, as well as its ciMitinuation in front 

 of them, the broad hind part of the u)axillarv bone, 

 and at least the hind part of the branch of the lower 

 jaw are furnished Avith small, spiny scales. ( >n the 

 blind side of the head, however, the maxillary bone, 

 the lower jaw, and the preoperculum are also scaleless. 

 All the hns on the eye side, as well as the blind side 

 of the caudal fin, are generally furnished with two rows 

 of scales on each i-av; Init in this respect there is con- 

 sideralile variation, the rule applying onlv to the middle 

 parts of the fins. The lateral line is more tlian usually 

 distinct and tliroughout the greater part of its course 

 quite straight, though its first quarter forms a slight 

 upward curve on the abdominal region. The lateral 

 line advances over the caudal fin along the lower mar- 

 gin of the sixth branched ray, or the ninth, if we 

 reckon the upper sui)])orting rays as well. 



The coloration of the right or eye side of the 

 Rough Dal) is an almost uniform grayish brown, more 

 or less dark, and generally strewn with scattered, in- 



" In (ill o\ir specimens (if the Kiir(i|ie;ni form the niinibcr of tliese siiii|ilc rays is ',i above and 3 liclow; in a speciiiieu of tin- Ame- 

 rican form \vc tin<l only 4 of lliesc sniijiorliny rays, as llie inner (liindmosf) of tliem, above and below, is brnnelied like tlie trne caudal rays. 



