526 Part III. — Tiventieth Amtuat Report 



ent absence of food in the stomachs of Lemon Soles, it is interesting to 

 note in the work by Professor P. J. van Beneden on the Fishes of the 

 Coasts of Belgium, already alluded to, that the author in speaking of 

 these fishes remarks : — " Nous ne connaissons done ne leur pature ni les 

 vers qui les hautent," and again — " Nous avons eu, au mois de juin, 

 I'occasion d'en etvidier deux examplaires provenant de la cote de Norwege, 

 tons les deux tres-frais ; ils ne contenaient riens dans leur estomac, ni 

 aucun parasite sur les branchies et dans les intestines." * 



Common Dab. Pleuronedes limanda, L. 



Sixty-eight specimens of Common Dabs have been examined, forty- 

 one from Aberdeen Bay, seven from the Firth of Forth, and twenty from 

 Annan. 



Two from a sample collected in Aberdeen Bay in September, 1900, had 

 some Amphipods and the remains of Starfishes in their stomachs, but 

 they were not sufficiently perfect for identification. The stomachs of 

 eighteen specimens captured in the vicinity of Aberdeen on September 

 20th and 25th, 1900, and ranging from 10 to 30 centimetres in length, 

 were all found to contain food, and there was no appreciable difference in 

 the food of the smaller from that of the larger specimens, which, in all of 

 them, consisted principally of brittle Starfishes in a very fragmentary 

 condition. In some cases the food consisted entirely of Starfish remains, 

 but in a number of the stomachs of a few other things were also observed. 

 In one a young hermit was obtained, and A2Jhe7'tisa borealis in another. 

 Pariamhus typicus was noticed in several, and the remains of other 

 Crustacea not perfect enough for identification ; young Mollufcs — such as 

 Cardium echinatum — and Annelid remains were also occasionally 

 observed. Paratylus falcatus, a somewhat rare Amphipod, was obtained 

 in the stomach of a specimen about 13 centimetres in length. The food 

 contained in the stomachs of another sample from Aberdeen Bay, col- 

 lected on June 10th, 1901, exhibited a greater variety in the organisms 

 of which it was composed. The number of fishes in this sample was 

 twenty-one, arid they w^ere mostly of small size ; none of them reached 

 six inches in length, while the smallest measured about three inches (or 

 from 7^ cm. to about 14| cm.). Annelids and brittle Starfishes 

 formed the principal part of their food, but there were also a considerable 

 number of other things observed, as shown by the following examples : — 

 A Dab, 14 J cm. in length, had in its stomach Montacuta ferruginosa, 

 Veriits fasciafa (jun.), Mya arenaria (jnn.), Chiton sp., Philine scahra, 

 Pariamb7is typicus (and some other Amphip)ods — the fragments only 

 remaining), several Cytliere (?) confusa, Opliiwra alldda (there were 

 fragments of this and probably also of another species), and a few speci- 

 mens of Miliolina semimdwn. In the stomach of another were found 

 the remains of Starfishes (Ophiuroids) and Annelids ; Mefopa rubro- 

 vitfata, Aphei'usa borealis, Cythere confusa, and other Crustaceans. 

 ApJientsa borealis occurred in several stomachs ; Leucothoe lilljeborgii, 

 Argissa hamatipes, Microj^rotopus macidatus, Pulichia sp., and a few 

 other Amphipods were also obtained, but they were all more or less 

 damaged. Young Mysidae were observed in some of the stomachs, but 

 no Isopods were met with. In view of the difference between the food 

 observed in the stomachs of these Dabs and that obtained in the stomachs 

 of previous samples, the question may be asked: — Was the difference due 

 to a greater variety of suitable organisms on the ground Avhere these 

 Dabs were feeding, or was the difference the result of more or less 

 deliberate choice — the fishes being more inclined to feed on certain 



* Les PoisKons des Votes de Behj!qt(e, p. 77. 



