556 THE PICKED DOG-FISH. 



Norw. ; Pig-IIdj, Dan. ; S. Acanthias, Linn.) was common 

 in our Skiirgard, the most so, probably, of all the sharks. 

 This is likewise the case along- the whole western coast of 

 both Sweden and NorAvay, from the North Cape to the 

 Sound. Off the north-west coast of Jutland, accordinor 

 to Kroyer, it is also very abundant, and once in a time 

 is said to have found its way into the Baltic. Its usual 

 length in the Scandinavian seas is about two feet and a 

 half, and it seldom or never attains more than three 

 feet. Its I'esorts are in less deep water than the most 

 of its congeners. It is i*arely met with on rocky ground, 

 but confines itself almost solely to localities wliei'e the 

 bottom is soft and miry. It is gregarious, and in the 

 spring especially goes in immense shoals. It is most 

 A'oracious, feeding on marine animals and fish ; and 

 should the latter be too large to swallow entire, it bites 

 them in two. It is a great enemy to the herrings, fol- 

 lowing them everywhere ; and in Norway, Ekstrom tells 

 us, one often hears of shoals of the latter being regularly 

 beleaguered by these rapacious fishes. 



The Picked Dog-Eish, as with some other sharks, is 

 viviparous ; but Northern naturalists are not very well 

 acquainted with its breeding habits. The prevailing 

 opinion seems to be that these fish pair in August and 

 September, and that the greater portion of the females 

 bring forth in May and June, and the remainder during 

 the summer. Professor Sundevall thinks it probable the 

 young are born in quick succession after each other, and 

 not at shorter or longer intervals, as would appear to be 

 the general impression. He has come to this conclusion 

 from finding the young in all the females he has opened 



advance of each of its two dorsal fins. Its otlier names are lld-Jisk (used, 

 though less frequently, almost everywhere) ; Hafr, or Haafur, in Iceland 

 (Olafsen, Faber) ; Haavur iu the Faroe Islands (Landt) ; H&-httt, or UaJ- 

 katt, in Scania. 



