FLAT-FISH. 



601 



which there is, in proportion to the apparent size. 

 We believe that the whole tribe are wholesome, 

 though in some the flesh is too soft, and in others it 

 is too hard for their being of much value ; but upon 

 the whole they may be considered as valuable fishes 

 to man ; so is the case with almost all bottom fishes. 

 They are rather tenacious of life, though probably not 

 so much so as eels ; but they do not keep so long 

 after they are dead as eels do, nor do they answer for 

 saltinsr. Taking all these circumstances into consider- 

 ation, they may be regarded as forming a coast supply, 

 rather than one which admits of being carried far into 

 the interior. On the coast, however, if the bottom is 

 favourable for them, they are found in great abun- 

 dance, and some of them continue longer in season 

 than most other species of fish ; and this is the case 

 most, irenerally with those which are of the best 

 quality, a circumstance which farther increases their 

 value in an economical point of view. 



This family of fishes has been differently arranged 

 by different describers and classifiers of the finny 

 tribes ; but in giving a short enumeration of the lead- 

 ing species, we shall follow the arrangement of Cuvier, 

 which has the advantage of both accuracy and autho- 

 rity. According to this arrangement the great genus 

 pleuronectes is divided into seven sub-genera; but the 

 character, of which we have given a short outline, is 

 pretty common to all those divisions. We have 

 already mentioned the sixth and seventh of those sub- 

 genera, in the article ACHIKUS, so that we have 

 now only the remaining five to enumerate. These 

 are Platessa, plaice, and flounders of different kinds ; 

 ffijtyog/ossus, halibuts ; Shambtu, turbots ; So/ea, 

 soles ; and ^lonochirus, which is nearly related to 

 the ordinary soles in its general characters, only it 

 has the pectoral iin on one side almost or altogether 

 obliterated. The other two divisions, Achinis and 

 Pegasus, are also soles, in which both pectoral fins 

 are obliterated. 



PLATKSSA. The general characters of this sub- 

 genus are : a row of blunted cutting teeth in each 

 jaw, and very often flattened teeth on the pharynx ; 

 the dorsal fin reaches up only to below the upper eye. 

 It, as well as the anal fin, is smooth, and there is an 

 interval without any fin between each of these and the 

 caudal. Their form is that of a lozenge or rhomboid, 

 and most of them have the eyes on the right side of 

 the head. They are common in most seas, and some 

 of the species enter pretty largely into the estuaries 

 of rivers. The most plentiful species is : the fluke, 

 common plaice, or Dutch plaice, which is very abun- 

 dant in the seas and waters which are not very deep, 

 and have muddy bottoms. It is characterised by a 

 row of six or seven tubercles, forming a line on the 

 right side of the head, between the eyes ; its colour 

 above is olive, spotted with small dots of aurora 

 red, and the under side is white. It grows to the 

 length of about a foot, is understood to spawn about 

 the month of February, and thus it is in season during 

 great part of the year. It is obtained in greater num- 

 bers, and in more places of the sea than most of the 

 others ; but, though its flesh is wholesome when recent 

 and in good condition, it very soon becomes tainted, 

 so that there are more unwholesome plaice brought to 

 market than almost any other fish. The mouth of 

 this species is small, and has the lower jaw longer 

 than the upper ; the scales upon it are small, pressed 

 deeply into the skin, and firmly attached. The gene- 

 ral number of rays in the fins are seventy-two in the 



dorsal, eleven in the pectoral, five in the ventral, and 

 fifty-four in the anal. 



The Flounder (Platessa flesus) is about the same 

 size as the former, but differs in the marking of the 

 body, and texture and appearance of the skin. In 

 general the ground colour on the upper side is olive, 

 marked with brown, and occasionally with intermedi- 

 ate patches of whitish, yellowish, or reddish, but it 

 never has the same bright aurora spots as appear on 

 the back of the fluke. There are small sharp spines 

 along the lateral line, and at the junction of the dorsal 

 and anal fins with the body ; and the lateral line near 

 the fore part is bent upwards. This is the least sea- 

 ward of the whole family ; and is often found at such 

 a distance up the rivers as that the water has not the 

 least taste of salt. It occurs most frequently, however, 

 in rivers the feeders of which flow through rich soil, 

 and thus deposit great quantities of mud and silt in 

 the eddies of slow currents ; and it is chiefly in such 

 places that this fish is to be met with. The quality 

 of its flesh depends a good deal on the water in which 

 it is found ; but though it is esteemed in those rivers 

 which contain comparatively few fish of superior qua- 

 lity, it is not very superior to the fluke. From the 

 number of situations in which the flounder is met 

 with, it may be naturally supposed that there are 

 many differences in respect to size and appearance ; 

 and it is also worthy of remark that though the gene- 

 rality have the eyes on the right side of the head, 

 specimens are often found which have them on the 

 left, and which evidently belong to this species. It 

 is understood that this species, like the former, spawns 

 in the winter ; and therefore, like that, it is a summer 

 fish for the table. 



The Dab (Plalessa lemanda}. The common dab is 

 nearly of the same size and shape as the fluke, but its 

 mouth is wider, its eyes are larger, and so are its 

 scales, which are rough or partially toothed in the 

 margins. Its teeth are also more large arid more 

 pointed, standing in an even row in each jaw. The 

 colour above is brownish, frequently mottled with 

 darker blotches, and occasionally with whitish ones. 

 It is a very common fish, spawning in May, and for 

 this reason is in best season for the table, when 

 the early spawners are " run " and unwholesome. Its 

 flesh is perhaps not so delicate as that of either of 

 the former two, when they can be obtained quite 

 fresh and alive ; but as it does not decay so soon, it 

 is better for supplying markets far from the coast. 



There are many other species of this genus which 

 are less frequent upon the British shores, but their 

 history is rather obscure ; and it is not unlikely that 

 an accidentally formed or coloured variety, especially 

 when young, has been occasionally figured and de- 

 scribed as a distinct species. A larger species is 

 mentioned by Cuvier under the name of Platessa 

 lotus, which is much broader than the common ones, 

 the breadth being equal to two thirds of the length, 

 but very little is known respecting it. 



All the species of Platessa are gregarious, collect- 

 ing in considerable numbers on favourite spots, and 

 seldom quitting these to range in the turbulent waters. 

 Their peculiar form enables them to swim in water 

 of no great depth, so that, in one or other of the 

 species, they are very generally distributed over the 

 coasts. 



HJPPOGLOSSUS the halibut grows to a much larger 

 size than any of the first sub-genus. It is often more 

 thun two feet in length in the British markets, and 



