Class IV. COMMON WOLF FISH. 203 



horrid an appearance, that nobody at Scar- 

 borough, except the fishermen, will eat it, and 

 they prefer it to holibut. They always, before 

 dressing, take off the head and skin. 



The sea wolf grows to a large size : those on Descrip- 

 the Yorkshire coast are sometimes found of the 

 length of four feet, and, according to Doctor 

 Gronovius, they have been taken near Shetland, 

 seven feet long, and even more. That which 

 we examined was three feet two inches and an 

 half from the tip of the nose to the end of the 

 tail ; the length of the head was eight inches ; 

 from the gills to the vent, ten ; from thence 

 to the tip of the tail, twenty and a half; the 

 circumference of the head was seventeen inches, 

 at the shoulders twenty, but near the tail only 

 four and a half; its weight was twenty pounds 

 and a quarter. The head is a little flatted on 

 the top ; the nose blunt ; the nostrils very 

 small ; the eyes small, and placed near the end 

 of the nose. Irides pale yellow. The teeth are 

 very remarkable, and finely adapted to its way 

 of life. The fore teeth are strong, conical, 

 diverging a little from each other, stand far out 

 of the jaws, and are commonly six above, and 

 the same below, though sometimes there are 

 only five in each jaw ; these are supported 

 withinside by a row of lesser teeth, which 



