THE THORNBACK. 437 



down and set wide apart from each other ; four on the in- 

 ner margin of each orbit ; none on any part of the pec- 

 torals ; a row commencing behind the nape, and running 

 down the central ridge as far as the first dorsal fin ; also 

 a few on each side of the tail. In another specimen of 

 three feet in length, there are more than three hundred 

 large spines on the upper surface of the body, mixed with 

 innumerable small spicula, and one hundred and eighty on 

 the under surface, besides a hundred and fifty on the tail, 

 arranged in seven rows. I have occasionally met with a va- 

 riety, having two rows of spines running up the back as 

 far as the nape, the dorsal ridge being without spines. A 

 specimen presenting this anomaly is in the College Mu- 

 seum of Edinburgh. 



The Thornback is a common species in the Firth of 

 Forth, and seems generally dispersed throughout the Bri- 

 tish coast. It is so well known and so strongly charac- 

 terized by the roughness of its skin on the upper sur- 

 face, that it is seldom mistaken for any of its congeners. 

 Large quantities are taken in nets in the months of May 

 and June in nearly every part of the Firth of Forth ; but 

 more especially on the sands of Aberlady, Musselburgh, 

 Burntisland, and Queensferry. The young specimens from 

 a foot to a foot and a half in length, are named maidens or 

 maiden skates, and are considered the best size for the table, 

 the flesh being sweeter and more delicate than that of the 

 larger individuals. It forms a cheap and wholesome article 

 of food to numbers of the lower classes of inhabitants. 



This fish is very voracious, and feeds on every kind of 

 small flounder. It is particularly fond of herrings and 

 sand-eels, as well as crustaceous animals, such as small 

 crabs and lobsters, which the teeth of the female are well 

 adapted to crush. Its flesh during the spring and summer 



