SOLEA VULGARIS. 89 



and burying themselves in the sand in the winter. They are well known to 

 the Sussex fishermen, having long been taken with the trawl, sometimes 

 weighing two pounds, but usually smaller, and, like the Guernsey fishes, they 

 are relatively thicker than those caught at sea. 



Soles seldom take bait; but, at sea, feed at night on small mollusca, small 

 echinoderms, marine worms, and fish spawn. Nothing is known of their food 

 in rivers. The eggs of the Sole are very minute, and Buckland estimated 

 that there are 134,000 eggs in a fish of one pound weight. So long as the 

 young fishes have the eyes on opposite sides of the head the swimming position 

 is vertical, and locomotion performed by means of the fins ; but as the eye 

 migrates across the head, so that both eyes are on one side of the head, the body 

 assumes a horizontal position, and locomotion is performed by serpentine un- 

 dulations of the body. 



The body has a long oval form, narrowing a little to the tail. The length 

 of the head is between one-fifth and one-sixth of the entire length. The 

 height of the body, excluding the dorsal and anal fins, is one-third of the 

 length. The mouth is not terminal ; its aperture is curved, and extends under 

 the hinder eye. The upper jaw is slightly the longer. Both jaws carry 

 minute teeth, which are best developed on the under side. The anterior 

 narine is tubular. The eyes are small, rather distant, the upper one being 

 in advance of the lower. 



The dorsal fin, which is low, commences in front of the anterior eye, and 

 extends almost to the caudal fin. The ventral fin is very small, in advance of 

 the base of the pectoral, distinct from the anal but not separated from it by 

 an interval. The anal fin is similar to the dorsal, but shorter. The pectoral 

 fins are similar on both sides of the body, are less than half the length of the 

 head, and often black at the extremity. The caudal fin is short, but longer 

 than the pectoral, with its extremity rounded. 



The lateral line is straight, and runs between the upper border of the eye 

 and the middle of the tail. The scales are small, and fimbriated at the free 

 margin. They cover the body and extend on to the fins, but are absent from 

 the larger part of the under side of the head, where papillse replace them about 

 the mouth. 



The colour of the under side is white, though Soles have occasionally been 

 taken with both sides coloured. The upper side is commonly brown, but the 

 shade varies, sometimes having a bluish tinge. Not infrequently there are 

 Blotches of darker brown or black. 



It is characteristic of the North Sea, from which it goes into the Baltic, and 

 ligrates into the English Channel. It is known on all the French coast, the 

 )asts of Spain and Portugal, and it enters the Mediterranean. 



