94 COMMON WOLF-FISH. 



land, those of Iceland and Norway, and in some 

 parts of the British coasts. It is a most fierce and 

 ravenous fish, and when taken fastens on any thing 

 within its reach: the fishermen, dreading its bite, 

 endeavour, as soon as possible, to beat out its fore- 

 teeth, and then kill it by striking it on the head : 

 Schonfelde relates that its bite is so hard that it 

 will seize on an anchor and leave the marks of its 

 teeth behind ; and we are informed by Steller that 

 one which he saw taken on the coast of Kamtskatka 

 seized with great violence a cutlass with which it 

 was attempted to be killed, and broke it in pieces 

 as if it had been made of glass. It feeds almost 

 entirely on crustaceous animals and shell-fish, viz. 

 crabs, lobsters, prawns, muscles, scallops, large 

 whelks, &c. &c. these it grinds to pieces with its 

 teeth, and swallows with the shells. It grows to a 

 large size, being occasionally found on the British 

 coasts of the length of four feet, but on the more 

 northern coasts of Europe has been seen of the 

 length of seven* feet : the head is a little flattened 

 on the top ; the nose blunt, the nostrils very small ; 

 the eyes small and placed near the end of the nose : 

 the irides are pale yellow: the teeth are very re- 

 markable, and finely adapted to its way of life : the 

 fore-teeth are strong, conical, diverging a little from 

 each other, and stand far out of the jaws : they are 

 commonly six above, and as many below, though 

 sometimes there are only five in each jaw : these 

 teeth are supported withinside by a row of smaller 



* According to Dr. Gmelin it has been found of the length of 

 fifteen feet. 



