40 ANACANTHINI. 



Lengtli of head 5^ to 6f , of caudal fin 7^- to 8, height of body 3 to 3| in 



the total length. %e,s— the upper slightly in advance of the lower : mterorbital 



space somewhat concave and exceeding 1 diameter of the eye in width. Jaws of 



about the same length in front. Cleft of the mouth extends to heneath the middle 



of the lower eye. Some short filaments on the snout and on the blind side of 



the head. Nostrils— on coloured side just in front of lower eye, the posterior 



one patent with a thick lip on the upper side: the anterior one tubular. 



On the blind side the anterior nostril is above the centre of the upper hp 



and scarcely tubular : the posterior nostril is as far behind the anterior as the 



latter is from the end of the snout, it is patent with slightly elevated 



edges. Teeth— small, but distinct on the blind side. Gi7/-ra/iere— rudimentary. 



Fins—ihe dorsal commences in front of the upper eye. The two pectorals of the 



same size, and 2i in the length of the head. Ventrals free. Caudal rounded. 



Scales — ctenoid, and continued on to the fin-rays. Lateral-line— stra,ight. Colours 



— brown or gray on the coloured side, frequently blotched with black. Vertical 



fins with a narrow, white, outer edge. Pectoral usually ^ith a black blotch m its 



outer half, which is very distinct in the young. " The colour of the sole depends 



upon and varies according to the quality and depth of the feeding ground : (at 



Weymouth) there are four prevailing varieties : — (1) a dark sole ; (2) a shrub sole, 



from the markings on the back having the appearance of shrubs ; (3) a lemon 



sole ; and (4) a spotted sole. No. 1 is, I believe, caught in the shallowest water ; 



no. 2 next; and nos. 3 and 4 in the deepest water." (W. Thompson, Zool. 1851, 



p. 3375.) 



Steindachner I.e. observes that Solea azevia, Capello, from Portugal, is this 

 species. 



Varieties. — M. Capello states that examples from the coasts of Portugal vary in 

 the number of their fin rays from D. 85-95, A. 74-78 (Journ. Sc. Matt. phys. e. nat. 

 Lisbon, no. ii, 1867, p. 164). Near the mouth of the Ouse a variety is taken termed 

 cardhi.e, its head is large and elongated, but its flesh is rather coarse. Reversed 

 examples are not rare (I obtained one jErom Brixham 14 inches long in January, 

 1881), neither are double ones or such as are coloured on both sides. On February 

 11th, 1881, 1 obtained from Brixham -a double sole ll-i- inches in length, with the eyes 

 placed as normally in this species. There are also semi-albino or piebald specimens. 

 Thompson observes that those from the north of Ireland vary considerably in 

 form and colour, some being narrower than others, and tapering more towards the 

 tail. I obtained an example 12 inches long from Brixham in which the caudal 

 fin had been lost, and a new one formed continuous with the dorsal and anal. 



Names. — Sole, as the Greeks considered it would form a fit sandal for an ocean 

 nymph : slijjs, or tongues, the market terms for the young : also tongue-soles in the 

 Moray Firth, and lobsters in Suffolk. La sole commune, French. I)e Tongr, Dutch. 

 Habits. — Appears to prefer sandy or gravelly shores, and is retentive of life, 

 but rather uncertain in its migrations, for although mostly appearing at certain 

 spots almost at a given time, and usually decreasing in numbers by degrees : in 

 other seasons they disappear at once as suddenly as they arrived. " The finest 

 Boles have been taken," observes Andrews (Zool. 1853, p. 3848) , " in the Arun 

 River, miles above the tideway, and where they breed and remain throughout the 

 year." " In the estuary of the Humber," observes Mr. Eagle Clarke, " they are 

 captured from May until August inclusive, all are either in spawn or shotten. The 

 young are very numerous in the shallow water at the edge of the tides." Yarrell, 

 on the authority of a correspondent, remarks that they breed in the River Arun, 

 frequenting it from the mouth five miles upwards, which is nearly to the town of 

 Arundel, and remain in it the whole year, burying themselves in the sand during 

 the cold months. It is not unusual for them to ascend rivers to some distance, 

 while they will live and thrive in fresh water. Along our sea-coasts they retire to 

 the deep as frosts set in, revisiting the shallows about May if the weather is warm, 

 their migrations being influenced by temperature. Although very large examples 

 are occasionally taken in Lynn Deeps this fish, similar to the whiting, only attains 

 about 2/3 the size off Norfolk and Suffolk that it does off Devonshire. 



