556 THE PICKED DOG-FISH. 



Norw. ; Pig-Iffij, 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 Norway, from the North Cape to the 

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

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

 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 resorts are in less deep water than the most 

 of its congeners. It is rarely met Avith on rocky Around, 

 but confines itself almost solely to localities where the 

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

 spring especially goes in immense shoals. It is most 

 voracious, feeding on marine animals and lish ; and 

 should the latter he too largo to swallow cut in-, 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-Fish, as with some other sharks, is 

 viviparous ; but Northern naturalists are not very well 

 acquainted with its hreedini: habits. The prevailing 

 opinion seems to be that these tish pair in Auirust 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 horn in quirk succession after each other, and 

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

 Ihe ircneral impression, lie has come to this conclusion 

 from finding the ymmu; in all the females he has opened 



advano- of rsu-li of iN two .lov^il tins. It- otlirr mimes arr llnfisk (u-nl, 

 thoiifjh Irss fr.M|urntly, almost r\ .-rywliiTc) ; ///>. or //./;/>. in I'vlan.I 

 (Oliifsi-ii. KnU-ri ; ll,i,tr>ir in the Fame Isliiiuls (I.un.ltl ; /Ar /.//, or llnl- 

 kaU, in Soiini:i. 



