THE SAIL-FLUKE. 3 



to the sea-strand, shouting with all his might. He was 

 usually in time to scare the Gull away and secure the 

 Fluke, but in almost every case with the liver torn out. 

 If the Gull by chance succeeded in carrying his prey off 

 to the rock, he and his partner set up a triumphant cack- 

 ling, as if deriding the disappointed lad. Seals often 

 pursue these Flukes into the bay, and frequently leave 

 serviceable morsels unconsumed. The Sail-fluke exhibits 

 its gambols most frequently before a storm, or when a thaw 

 succeeds a frost. It is the most delicious fish of our seas, 

 but loses its flavour by a day's keeping." 19 Feb. 1849. 



Length of a specimen, twenty-one inches. Height, ex- 

 cluding the fins, seven inches and a half, or including 

 them, ten inches. Weight three pounds. 



D. 87 : A. 69 : P. 11 : V. 5 : C. 19|. 



The dorsal commences before the upper eye, which is 

 three-quarters of an inch before the lower one. The 

 rough lateral line is much arched over the pectoral fin. 

 Scales large and striated from the centre, roughish on the 

 pale belly, and very small on the fronts of the fin-rays. 

 There is one row of minute sharp teeth on each jaw, and 

 also some teeth on the vomer. Tongue round and coni- 

 cal. Operculum and interoperculum thin and very dia- 

 phanous, the bony plates, and the cheeks being as thin as 

 silk paper, so that the smallest type may be read through 

 them. The left or coloured side of the fish is like that 

 of the Common Dab, yellowish -brown, with scattered 

 dark blotches. Another specimen weighed four pounds, 

 and had ninety-one dorsal rays, with seventy-five anal 

 ones. (Dr. Duguid.) 



The oval of the body is wider vertically than that of the 

 Smdhvarf (PI. 50) of the Scandinaviens Fiskar, but nar- 

 rower than the ovals of either of our English Top-knots. 

 In the facial profile and forms of the vertical fins there is 



E 2 



