202 COMMON WOLF FISH. Class IV. 



on the coasts of Scotland, and of Yorkshire, and 

 lastly, in that part of the German ocean, which 

 washes the shores of Holland, the most southern 

 of its haunts we can with any certainty men- 

 tion. 



It is a most ravenous and fierce fish, and 

 when taken, fastens on any thing within its 

 reach: the fishermen dreading its bite, endea- 

 vour as soon as possible to beat out its fore 

 teeth, and then kill it by striking it behind the 

 head. Schonevelde relates, that its bite is so 

 hard that it will seize on an anchor, and leave 

 the marks of its teeth in it ; and the Danish and 

 German names of Steenbider and Steinbeisser, 

 express the sense of its great strength, as if 

 it was capable of crushing even stones with its 

 jaws. 

 Food. It feeds almost entirely on crustaceous ani- 



mals, and shell fish, such as crabs, lobsters, 

 prawns, muscles, scallops, large whelks, &c. 

 these it grinds to pieces with its teeth, and 

 swallows with the lesser shells. It does not 

 appear they are dissolved in the stomach, but 

 are voided with the faces, for which purpose 

 the aperture of the anus is wider than in other 

 fish of the same size. It is full of roe in Febru- 

 ary, March, and April, and spawns in May 

 and June. This fish has so disagreeable and 



