460 



SCANDINAVIAN FISHES. 



The body is, therefore, rough in whatever direction the 

 liand is passed over it, though roughest when stroked 

 tVom behind, and feels like hard velvet. The blind side 

 (»f the body, on the other hand, is smooth, the scales 

 being cycloid, somewhat more elongated, and overlapping 

 each other only to the usual extent. On this side, too, 

 the scales are wanting on the head and all the fin-rays, 

 except in the caudal tin. The lateral line of the body, 

 which l)egins in the temporal I'cgion, on a level with 

 the middle of the posterior eye or some^vhat higher — 

 liere, as in the other Flukes, considerably above the 

 upper angle of the gill-openings — forms a rather low 

 and elongated, sinuous curve over the pectoral fin, until, 

 iust behind the tip of the left pectoral lin and sonie- 

 wliat above the middle of the sides, it resumes its 

 straight course l>ack to the middle of the caudal tin. 



The intestinal canal reminds us in its course of the 

 Soles. The a'sophagus with its continuation, the stomach, 

 runs almost straight along the roof of the abdominal 

 cavity into the left secondai-y cavity, somewhat beyond 

 the middle of the length of the body, where the sto- 

 mach ends in the form of a lilind sac. From the lower 

 side, just in front of its bottom, it sends out a short 

 pyloric part, externally separated by contractions both 

 frfiiu the stomach and the small intestine, which latter 

 runs forward in a curve con\ex tVom l)el<:)w to tlie front 

 wall of the abdominal cavity, where it l)ends sharply 

 upwards to return in a circular coil on the right side 

 of the liver to the rectum, which leads to the vent. 

 The liver, which lies as usual to the left, is compara- 

 tively small, and the pyloric appendages are wanting. 

 The left ovary extends Avhen ripe back to tlie beginning 

 of the last quarter of the body, ^vhile tlie right ovary 

 at the same period extends only a little ])eyond the 

 middle of the liody. 



The coloration of the eye side, though extremely 

 variable, renders Midler's Topknot one of the most hand- 

 some of the Scandinavian Flatfishes, v. Wright's figure 

 (PI. XIX, fig. 2) represents a young specimen '27 mm. 

 long. This specimen is of a violet-gray ground-colour, 

 with an ash-gray lustre, strongest on the jaws and the 

 caudal fin, and brown and pale yellow spots and streaks. 

 The most prominent marking on the body is a sharply 

 defined, I)rownish l)lack spot, as large as one of the 

 eyes, situated just in front of the middle of tlie bod}-, 

 at the end of the curve of the lateral line. Xext come 

 the bi'own spots on the gill -covers; two of these are 

 especially distinct, in the form of o]jli(|ue stripes, one 



running upwards in an oblique posterior direction from 

 the upper eve, and (me downwards in an oblique pos- 

 terior direction from the lower eye. Even in front of 

 the eyes we find traces of a transverse stripe. Along 

 the bases of the dorsal and anal fins runs a row of 

 alternate, ])rown and pale yellow spots, the former, in 

 accordance witli SundevaijAs explanation of the colour- 

 ing of the preceding species, being traces of transverse 

 bands across the body and fins, the latter a common 

 marking of the Flatfishes, especially tlie fry. Similar 

 pale yellow spots also occur on the gill-covers, and in- 

 distinct, scattered ones on the body. In old specimens 

 the ground-colour is yellowish brown, ^vitll numerous, 

 brown or nearly black, transverse spots or bands on 

 the body and fins. Three of these bands generally start 

 from the anterior part of the superior margin of the 

 upper eye, diverging out over the dorsal fin. A fourth, 

 broader band runs from the hind margin of this eye 

 obliquely upwards to the dorsal fin, and in most cases 

 may be traced between the eyes, and is continued down- 

 wards, obliquely backwards across the cheek and iiiter- 

 operculum, out over the first rays of the anal fin. From 

 the anterior part of tiie lower eye we may generally 

 find traces of divergent brown bands, one forward along 

 the snout, another do^\•nwal•d, across the middle of the 

 lower ja\v, and a third obliquely liac'k\vard, over the 

 left ventral fin. (}n the Ijody itself the brown bands 

 are usually broken up more thoroughly into oblong or 

 I'ound spots; but on the operculum and sul)operculum 

 the an-angeiiient of these spots still shows traces of a 

 band, running parallel to the interrupted angular Ijand 

 of the eye, and this arrangement may sometimes be traced 

 all the way along the bodA*. About 15 or 16 transverse 

 bands seem to have crossed the dorsal fin, and about 

 12 the anal. The most prominent of the spots are the 

 round one which we liave mentioned above, at the end 

 of the curve of the lateral line, another, which is not 

 so distinct, further back along this line, and a third on 

 the upper part of the operculum. The blind side is white. 

 Midler's Topknot occurs at least from the neigh- 

 bourhood of Trondhjem south to the Bay of Biscay on 

 the south-west of France; but in the extreme north as 

 well as in the extreme south of its range it is rare, 

 or at all events of infrequent occurrence, so that it is 

 strictly a British fish. It does not enter the Baltic, but 

 is taken ])retty often on the coast of Bohusliln and in 

 the comparatively deep channel along the west coast of 

 Sweden, as well as in the east of the Sound, down to 



