THE JOHN DORY FAMILY 321 



ventral fin is similar to the second dorsal, and there is a small 

 front ventral fin consisting of three small spines. The first ray 

 of the throat fin is thick, long, and rough. It is a small fish, not 

 exceeding 7 inches in length. 



The fish is found in the Mediterranean, and on the Atlantic 

 coast from Madeira to England. It approaches the coast in 

 summer from May to October, and off Devon and Cornwall is 

 very abundant ; north of the English Channel it has been only 

 occasionally taken. It swims near the bottom and hundreds 

 are taken by the Plymouth trawlers in summer time in every 

 haul of the trawl. The limits of the spawning period I do not 

 know, but I found numbers of ripe specimens on August i5th, 

 1887, on board a trawler to the east of the Eddystone, and I 

 fertilised some of the eggs, which were buoyant and transparent. 

 The egg is '97 to 1-5 mm. in breadth or about -^ inch, and is 

 globular. The yolk is simple and undivided, and there is a large 

 single oil globule. None of the eggs were hatched and the 

 larva and its transformations have not been traced out. 



The John Dory (Zeusfaber). 



Distinguishing Characters. Along the base of the dorsal fins 

 on each side is a row of spines, those at the base of the second 

 dorsal being double ; similar spines at the base of the hinder 

 ventral fin. The front ventral fin consists of four strong, thick, spiny 

 rays. The throat-fin is a little in front of the breast-fin, and is 

 nearly as long as the first dorsal, filaments included. The mouth 

 is large and much protruded when open. The largest specimen 

 was 22\ inches long, and 18 Ibs. weight. 



Habitat. Like the boar fish, the dory is a fish of the 

 Mediterranean, and is spread on the Atlantic coast from Madeira 

 to Norway. It is common in the English Channel and Bristol 

 Channel, where it has considerable importance in the market, 

 and occurs all round the coast of Ireland ; but on the east coast 

 of Britain and in the North Sea, it is rare. In the Irish Survey 

 it was not taken at greater depths than 40 fathoms. 



The dory feeds entirely on fish. At Plymouth from December 

 to March, I found only pilchards and herring in their stomachs, 

 when the half digested remains were recognisable at all. During 



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