THE FLAT-FISH. 389 



back," has reference. In colour, this fish is of a pale 

 brown ; white on the right side, or beneath, as it would 

 be called; and its greatest length is given as 8 inches. 

 It spawns in spring. 



The Topknot, commonly known as "Browny," is a 



rough -scaled fish, smooth on the uncoloured side. It 



appears to be common on all our sandy 



coasts. All three topknots appear to spawn 



in early spring. 



Another unimportant member of the group, the One- 

 spotted Topknot, which is not known to exceed a length 

 One-spotted of 5 inches, is of reddish hue, having a single 

 Topknot. dark spot on the back and sometimes several 

 fainter spots. The right, or under, side is rough. This 

 fish is further characterised by the long dorsal ray. 



The third and smallest of the topknots, the Norwegian 

 Topknot, of which a mature example has been taken meas- 

 Norwegian uring little over 3 inches, is smoother both 

 Topknot. above and below than the last, and has not 

 the elongated dorsal ray. It is said to spawn about 

 April. 



All the remaining flat-fishes of our seas have the eyes 

 and colour on the right side. The halibut and long rough 

 dab present certain points in common. 



In the Halibut, largest of our flat-fishes, which is 



taken in our seas weighing as much as 100 Ibs., we find 



the skin smooth and the right side dark brown 



in colour. The mouth is large and the teeth 



are pointed, the food of this species consisting largely of 



ground-fish, crustaceans, and molluscs. Though this is to 



be regarded as a marketable fish, the flesh is coarse when 



compared, at any rate, with that of the sole or turboi 



According to Cunningham, the halibut spawns in the 



