THE SOLE. 205 



Upper eye the larger, the socket from anterior to posterior being ]l 

 inch, that of lower eye l^ inch ; the ridge separating them is not pro- 

 minent (see Yarr. p. 253, vol. ii.) though " bony," nor was it so in the 

 specimen of 21st Oct. ; pupil blue, encircled with a narrow line of a silver 

 colour tinged with gold. 



The arch at the anterior part of lateral line much more conspicuous than 

 the straight line forming its base, and scales similar to those extending 

 posteriorly from it in a straight line to the tail. 



Colour of entire u])per side and fins greyish brown, with a few small 

 dark brown markings, irregular in form and irregularly disposed over it ; 

 though perhaps as numerous, these are much smaller than in Donovan's 

 plate, and more irregularly scattered. 



This specimen was called " White Sole " in the market. 



It proved a male on dissection. The stomach contained only a frag- 

 ment of some shrimp-like crustacean. 



The Scald-fish, or Megrim, PJeuronectes Arnoglossits, Schn., 



HJtomhus — Yarrell. 



A specimen of this very rare fish was obtained by Mr. W. Todhunter 

 on the Galway coast, in Sept., 1848. The specimen is in the Dublin 

 University Museum. It has been taken on the coast of Cork. M. Ball. 



The Sole, Solea vulgaris, Cuv., 

 Prevails around the Irish coast. On some banks where properly sought 

 for it is obtained in large quantities, and of the finest quality. 



Dublin is generally well supplied with them ; Belfast not by any means 

 so well — consequently they fetch fully as high, indeed generally higher 

 prices here than in the London market. 



The sole of the North of Ireland vary considerably in form and colour, 

 so that when commencing the study of our native fishes, I was, on two or 

 three occasions, induced to purchase specimens so difiering, for critical 

 examination : they all proved to be merely S. vulgaris. 



In the general outline of the body some appertained as much to the 

 form of the solenette (Yarr. Br. Fishes, vol. ii. p. o55) as the sole (p. 

 347, same work), or in other words, some of equal length were consider- 

 ably narrower and tapered more to the tail than others. 



In colour some were of the ordinary dark brown umber hue, as repre- 

 sented by Donovan ; others much lighter, from the centre of each scale 

 being yellowish. In some examples the ground colour is yellowish brown, 

 varied by being marked all over with large and small roundish spots 

 of dark brown. The largest and thickest examples, 20 inches in length 

 and upwards, which I have seen in Belfast market, were of this light hue. 



In two specimens 1 1 inches in length, their greatest breadth (exclusive 

 of A. and 1). fins) Mas less by an inch than 1 to 3 of the entire length. 

 The fin-rays of these specimens dirt'ered in number. In one of 13 inches 

 tlie breadth a little exceeded a third of tlie length. 



Irides of a golden hue clouded with brown. 



In their stomachs were small crustacca and marine worms. 



Dr. Farran has favoured me with the following notes upon tlie food of 

 this species : — ■ 



"The first examination I made of the stomach of the hlnch sole [Solca 

 riilgaris) was in the beginning of Oct., 1841. I i'ound in two or three s])c- 

 cimens of the fish the Cnnlinm elougatiun abundantly, but generally 

 l)roken ; witli them also a few of the Bulla aperta, and a number of s])e- 

 cimens (13) of the Eclunocgamus pusillus ; in about a month subsequently 



