THE FLAT-FISH FAMILY 



235 



pigment — none on the fin-membrane. As the yolk is absorbed 

 the larva grows very long and slender, and the pigment, develop- 

 ing on the fin-membrane as well as on the body and tail, forms 

 five transverse bands, as in the lemon dab — two on the body and 

 three on the tail. These bands are well marked in the larva 

 when two days old (Fig. 108), when the yolk is not all gone, and 

 the mouth is not yet open ; at this age the larva w^as 5-9 mm.. 



Fig. 108. — Larva of the Witch or Pole Dab, two days old, alive and magnified. 



long (nearly l inch). The coloured pigment is a pale chrome- 

 yellow. Mr. Holt kept the larvae alive fourteen or fifteen days 

 after hatching. When about ten days old the larva had ex- 

 hausted the yolk ; the mouth was open and terminal, the jaws 

 being well developed, the lower jaw projecting beyond the 

 snout. 



Fig. 109. — Young Witch, a little over li inch long, from a preserved specimen. After 



Hoh. 



The later larval stages and transformation stages in this 

 species have not been seen either in specimens reared in confine- 

 ment, or in specimens recognised with certainty from the sea. 

 During the Irish Survey three or four young specimens, which 

 had already reached the perfect condition, were taken in the 

 shrimp-trawl off the Skelligs from a depth of 80 fathoms. These 

 were a little more than if in. in length, and were obtained on 



