?42 MARKETABLE BRITISH MARINE FISHES 



Bar, not far from the shore, at a depth of 2 to 5 fathoms. 

 Two other hauls were taken further eastward with a similar 

 result. The lemon dabs were 3 to 5 inches long;, and there were 

 a few larger fish of the same species, but the number of these 

 was insignificant. With the lemon dabs were also taken 

 hundreds of small soles of the same length, and a large number 

 of plaice and common dabs of corresponding sizes. There can 

 here be no reasonable doubt that there was a large assemblage 

 of year-old fish feeding at the bottom of this inshore, almost 

 estuarine, channel. Whether the occurrence of yearling lemon 

 dabs at this particular locality is exceptional or not we do not 

 yet know. At present the observation, as far as this species is 

 concerned, is unique. 



The Halibut {Hippoglossus vulgaris). 



Distinguishing Characters. — Body thick and narrow, ap- 

 proaching to the shape of an upright fish. Dorsal and ventral 

 fins rather narrow, especially in front and behmd : both end at 

 some distance from the tail. Dorsal commences above the 

 upper eye. Mouth large : teeth on both sides of the jaws, a 

 double row in the upper jaw. Skin smooth, scales without 

 spines (cycloid). Colour, nearly uniform dark olive, with a slight 

 marbling of darker. Lateral line with a curve above the pectoral 

 fin. 



Sise. — The halibut is by far the largest of all the flat fishes, 

 not only of Europe but of all the world. Specimens are said to 

 have been taken which were nearly 20 feet long. European 

 specimens 7^ feet long and weighing 320 lbs. have been authen- 

 tically recorded. Specimens from six to seven feet long are 

 common in the Grimsby market, though the majority captured 

 range from two to six feet. 



Names. — Generally called halibut or holibut, which latter 

 is the usual pronunciation on the east coast of England. Called 

 turbot in the Moray Firth. 



Habitat. — It is a northern, it may almost be said Arctic, fish. 

 In Europe its southern limit is the English Channel. It probably 

 exists all along the southern shores of the Arctic Ocean — Euro- 

 pean, Asiatic, and American. It is known to occur off the coasts 



