THE FLATFISHES 225 



record (in 1892) young lemon dabs from the Humber estuary 

 in autumn, previous to which they had been thought to keep 

 out in deep water. Two years later Cunningham found the 

 young stages in the Brightlingsea shrimp-trawls. These small 

 lemon dabs are commonly infested with young crustaceans 

 {Caligi) parasitic on their fins. 



The Witch (P. cynoglossus), or Pole Dab, is hardly to be 

 regarded as a Channel fish, though it does occur on our south 

 coast. On the other hand, it is locally plentiful in the North 

 Sea and on the west coasts of both Scotland and Ireland, while 

 Mcintosh and Masterman describe it as not uncommon on the 

 muddy grounds of the Moray Firth. In its earlier stages, 

 at any rate, it inhabits the deeper water offshore. 



In colour the witch is a pale brown on the upper side, and 

 there is a dull stain over the lower. The body is oval and 

 elongated, the eyes are large, the mouth is small, and the 

 teeth blunt and lying in one row. The lower side of the head 

 has curious pits or depressions under the skin, first noticeable 

 when the young fish measures rather less than 2 in. The 

 distinguishing character of the witch, however, for easier 

 observation lies in the extraordinarily large number of its fin- 

 rays — over one hundred in the dorsal and often over ninety in 

 the ventral. The scales of the upper side are somewhat rough. 



In Scotch waters the witch grows to a length of about 

 20 in., and it feeds on worms, crustaceans, molluscs, and sand- 

 stars. The females are slightly larger than the males and are 

 almost double their number. 



The witch spawns, in Scotch waters, between May and 

 August, chiefly in July. The female deposits from half a 

 million to 800,000 eggs, and the egg measures considerably 

 under -^ in. It is round and buoyant, and takes about a 

 week to hatch. The larva measures rather less than ^ in., 

 and is distinguished from that of the dab by its very little 

 pigment. When a couple of days old, it is slender and has 

 more pale yellow colouring. 



IS 



