THE FLAT-FISH FAMILY 26 1 



coast of Ireland at depths beyond 40 fathoms, and even the 

 larger specimens are often taken in 3 to 10 fathoms, a short 

 distance from the beach. It does not however ascend estuaries, 

 in the adult state, though a few young are taken in the lower 

 parts by shrimpers. 



Food. — -The turbot, especially \vhen of considerable size, feeds 

 almost entirely on other fish. It is a predaceous creature, whose 

 powers of concealment by means of covering itself with sand, 

 and assimilating its colour to that of the surrounding ground, 

 enable it to lie in wait until some fish is near enough, and then 

 suddenly to rise from the ground and seize it. On the west of 

 Ireland the principal fish found in turbots' stomachs from May 

 to August were sprats and sand-eels {Ammodytes). In one 

 specimen, i/i inches long, more than sixty sand-eels were 

 found. A dab, a sole, and a pout {Gadus Esinarkit), and a 

 dragonet were also found each once. Bivalve molluscs and 

 worms were found in one fish each. 



On the trawling grounds of the south-west of England I 

 have found in turbots' stomachs, the boar fish, commonly called 

 cuckoo by the fishermen, pilchards, whiting, young .sea bream 

 {Page/lus centvodontiis)^ pout {Gadits liisciis), and never found 

 anything besides fish. 



Breeding. — According to Dr. Fulton the female turbot is 

 more numerous than the male, in the proportion of 197 to 100, 

 and larger on the average in the proportion of 118 to 100 by 

 length. The total number of eggs in the ovaries varied from 

 5,612,000 in a fish of 18 lbs. weight, to 10,1 14,000 in a fish weigh- 

 ing 21 lbs. Buckland calculated the number of eggs in a turbot 

 weighing 23 lbs. as 14,311,000. 



According to Dr. Fulton's results, turbot spawn on the east 

 coast of Scotland in April, May, June, and July. Mr. Holt's 

 observations, at Grimsby, gave the .same result, but extended 

 the period for a small proportion of fish to August and the 

 commencement of September. The spawning period is thus 

 prolonged. On the west coast of Ireland the observations were 

 not extensive, but spawning was taking place in April, May, 

 and June. 



The eggs of the turbot when alive and fertilised measure 

 roi mm. in diameter (tt^ inch), almost exactly the same size 

 as those of the flounder. But they differ from these in having 



