22 



The British form of Solea, which is distinguif-hed from the others by the dilatation of 

 the left nostril, was first observed by Yarrell, who described and figured it in the 

 " Zoological Journal," \v\. IV, in 1829, under the name Solea pegusa. His description is 

 so bad that it would be impossible to identify the species by its means with certainty, 

 but his plate shows the distinguishing characters quite clearly. Yarrell considered 

 his specimens to belong to the species Plearonectes pegusa of Lacepede's " llistoire 

 Naturelle des Poissons," Vol IV, 1803, and with the Pleuronectes pegusa of Eisso's 

 " Ichthyologie de Nice," 1810, wliicli is called Monochirus f>egusa in the same author's 

 " Hist. Nat. de I'Europe Meridionale." In the third edition of Yarrell's " British Fishes," 

 Sir John Richardson identified this species as the Pleuronectes nasutus of Pallas' 

 " Zoographia Rosso-Asiatica," 1811. 13ut the PL pegusa of Laccpede is the Solea 

 ocellata of Giinther's Catalogue, the Pleuronectes ocellaius of Linnanis, the Solea 

 ocidata of Eondelet, a well-marked species in which tlie nostril is not dilated ; and the 

 Monochirus pegusa of Risso is another species of the Mediterranean which has no 

 pectoral fin on the blind side, and in which also the left nostril is not dilated : it is the 

 Solea monochir of Giinther's Catalogue. 



Yarrell's identification w^as therefore entirely incorrect, and Pallas' description of 

 PL nasutus is so extremely vague that it is difiicult to ascertain to what species it 

 referred. The specimens described by Pallas by the name n(t.sufus were taken in llic 

 Theodosian Gulf in llic Black Sea. The Solea ocellata and Solea munochir both occur 

 at Nice. 



Dr. Giinther, in his "Catalogue of the Fishes in the British Museum," Vol. IV, 18G2, 

 distinguishes four species of Solea in which the left nostril is dilated and flattened. 

 The British form, called by Yarrell Solea pegusa, the lemon sole, or French sole, is 

 described as distinct from any other known species, and is named by Dr. Ciinther, 

 Solea aurantiaca. The second of the four species is the Solea lascaris of Risso, the 

 third Solea impar of Bennett, and the fourth Solea margaritifera of Giinther, another 

 new species. I have examined m3-self the specimens in the collections of the British 

 Museum, which Dr. Giinther thus described in his Catalogue, and in many respects I 

 cannot agree with him in his arrangement and identification of them. 



Risso's original description of Solea lascaris is not very exact, and the small figure 

 he gives is quite worthless ; it would be impossible to identify the species from the 

 figure. The numbers of fin-rays he gives are as follows : — 



D. 85, A. G8, P. 7, V. .5, C. 15. 



He says that the colour is " fauve tigr(5 de noir, avec des reflets violets, parsem^s de 

 points grisatres sur la surface droite." He says that the upper jaw covers the inferior 

 in such a manner as to imitate the beak of a parroquet, and then continues: " Le 

 dessous de la tete est orne de petits cils soyeux, blanchatres, entourant un long tube 

 qui rc'^pand une humeur glaireuse." Now it is difiicult to understand how a naturalist 

 could describe the dilated nostril of Yarrell's lemon sole as " un long tube," but as 



