FISHES. 



609 



shark, or a file-fish, will add greatly to the excitement ; and if the 

 : dogs ' should be at all plentiful, it is a chance if a single fish be got 

 out of the sea in its integrity. So voracious are these Squalidae, that 

 I have often enough pulled a mere skeleton into the boat, instead of 

 a plump cod often or twelve pounds weight." 



The Dab, P. limanda (Fig. 389), is very common in the markets 



Fig. 389. The Dab (Platessa limanda). 



of Paris, where it is held in great esteem. It takes its name Limanda 

 from the hard and dentate scales on its body. It has jaws fur- 

 nished with a single row of obtuse teeth ; the dorsal fin only extends 

 in front to a line with the eye, leaving an interval between it and the 

 caudal. The form of the body is rhomboidal, as in the turbot, and 

 the eyes are usually on the right side. 



The Holibut, Hippoglossus vulgar is (Fig. 390), is a large fish, 

 inhabiting the seas of Northern Europe and Greenland, where it is 

 occasionally caught measuring seven feet, and weighing from 300 

 U 



