FISHES 



99. Five-bearded Rockling. Motella mustela, 



Linn. 

 Common. 



100. Four-bearded Rockling. Motella cim- 



bria, Linn. 



Cocks has recorded it from Falmouth. Mr. 

 Cornish states that it is small and rare in 

 Cornwall. Holt mentions a specimen taken 

 from the stomach of a hake trawled in or off 

 the Bristol Channel. It was 8J inches long, 

 and the first ray of the dorsal fin was over 

 2 inches in length (Journ. M.B.A. v. 343). 



101. Three-bearded Rockling. Motella tri- 



cirrata, Bl. 



Very common. There are three principal 

 stages in the life history of this fish. In the 

 first stage they are silvery little fish with long 

 pectoral fins which are black at the ends. 

 These are known as mackerel midges and 

 swim at the surface in June. The older fish 

 up to a length of about 6 inches are of a 

 uniform dark colour and are found under 

 stones between tide marks. The adults, 

 which reach a length of 20 inches and are 

 spotted, are found in deeper water. 



O2. Lesser Fork-beard. Raniceps raninus, 



Linn. 



Mr. Dunn has obtained it at Mevagissey, 

 and Mr. Cornish recorded it several times 

 from Mount's Bay from 1863 to 1878. 



103. Bearded Ophidium. Ophidium barbatum, 



Linn. 



A specimen 10 inches in length from Pad- 

 stow is in the British Museum. 



PLEURONECTOIDEI 



104. Halibut. Hippoglossus vulgaris, Flem. 

 This fish is very seldom caught on the 



Cornish coast, but a few specimens have been 

 recorded. One weighing 102 Ib. was obtained 

 at Mevagissey in 1870, and another weighing 

 about a hundredweight was taken on a spiller 

 in Mount's Bay in 1882 (Cornish, Zoologist). 



105. Long Rough Dab. Hippoglossoides 



limandoides, Bl. 

 Cocks obtained a specimen at Falmouth. 



1 06. Turbot. Rhombus maximus, Linn. 

 Common, and reaches a large size. The 



young up to a length of I inch or i^ inches 

 and in process of metamorphosis swim at the 

 surface, and are often to be seen in harbours 

 in May or June, e.g. Mevagissey. 



107. Brill. Rhombus Itevis, Gottsche. 

 Common, taken by trawlers. The young 



are similar to those of the turbot, but smaller, 

 and are found in similar conditions. 



1 08. Common Topknot. Zeugopterus puncta- 



tus, Bl. ; Rhombus punctatus, GUnther. 

 Rather common, but not abundant. Day 

 obtained it at Penzance in i88i,and Cornish 

 stated in the Zoologist that he obtained forty- 

 eight specimens between 1858 and 1866. 



1 09. One-spotted Topknot. Zeugopterus uni- 



macu/atus, Risso. 



J. Couch alludes to a specimen from the 

 Bristol Channel in 1863, and Cornish ob- 

 tained one in 1880. It is evidently rarer 

 than the common topknot. 



1 1 0. Norway Topknot. Zeugopterus norwegi- 



cus, Gdnther. 



Four specimens trawled in July 1891 be- 

 tween the Eddystone and Rame Head in 

 25 fathoms. One specimen trawled six miles 

 from Plymouth Breakwater in March 1892. 

 The last specimen was a ripe female. It does 

 not exceed 4 inches in length. 



in. Sail Fluke or Megrim. Lepidorhombus 

 megastoma, Donov. 



Common on the trawling grounds. The 

 sail-fluke and carter of J. Couch's British 

 Fishes are the same species, but it is usually 

 called the megrim in the fish trade. The 

 legend of its floating to the shore in the 

 Orkneys with its tail erected as a sail seems 

 to be founded on fact, as it seems to come to 

 the surface and be thrown ashore there in 



storms. 



Arnoglo: 



112. Scald-fish or Scald-back. 



laterna, Walb. 

 Very common on sandy ground, the young 

 in shallow water, the adults on the trawling 

 grounds. The A. lophotes of Gunther, dis- 

 tinguished by the elongation of the anterior 

 rays of the dorsal fin and of the rays of the 

 pelvic fins, is the adult male. 



113. Broad Scald -fish. Arnoglossus groh- 



manni, Bonap. 



Two females trawled by Holt in Gerran's 

 Bay, July 1897, both full of spawn. 



114. Plaice. Pleuronectes platessa, Linn. 

 Abundant, but not so large as those of the 



northern part of the North Sea. There are 

 several local races of plaice differing not only 

 in size at maturity, but in minute structural 

 characters ; the English Channel race ex- 

 tends to the coasts of Holland, further north 

 is a larger race, while the Iceland plaice and 

 Baltic plaice are quite distinct. 



301 



