10 ANACANTHINT. 



fin ray. Lateral-line — nearly straight anteriorly, becoming quite so opposite the 

 hind end of the pectoral fin. Goecal appendages — four. Colours — on upper surface 

 of a pale brownish gray or sandy : under surface white. Occasionally it is said to 

 be slightly spotted. 



Names.— Rough dab, or long-rough dab : bastard-sattie, Aberdeen : also yellow 

 dab, Banff : Long-fleuk, and sandsucher, Edinburgh, the last name being due to the 

 erroneous idea that it feeds on nothing but sand : 'lemon sole, Scotland. De lange 

 scliar, Dutch. 



Habits. — It frequents sandy shores, is captured along with plaice and other 

 pleuronectoids, and, according to Parnell, several may be daily seen in the 

 Edinburgh markets from May to July : Parnell found what appeared to be 

 fragments of some species of Asterias in the stomach of one he examined. Cock's 

 specimen had its stomach filled with the shells of Turritella terebra, two-thirds of 

 which contained hermit crabs, Pagurus. 



Means of capture. — It appears to be usually taken with the beam trawl. 



Breeding. — Asserted by Couch to spawn in May and June. 



As food. — Its flesh is said to be sweet and good, but rather dry. 



Habitat. — Atlantic coasts of North Europe and shores of the German Ocean : 

 Bloch appears to have first received it from Heligoland. 



The first record of the occurrence of this fish in the British seas was by 

 Parnell in 1835 (I.e.) : Tarrell received an example from Dr. Harwood in 1833, 

 captured during the autumn at St. Leonard's, and in the succeeding summer two 

 from Berwick. 



It is rare off Banff (Edward) : found at Aberdeen (Sim) : frequent during 

 May, June and July, in the Firth of Forth (Parnell) : not rare off Berwick 

 (Johnston) : Sunderland (G. Fox) : inhabits deep waters in the North Sea and 

 is occasionally taken at Whitby (Yorkshire Vertebrata) : Hastings (Tarrell) : 

 rare off Devonshire according to Parfitt : I have received numerous examples from 

 Brixham : Falmouth (Cocks). 



In Ireland Mr. Todhunter obtained a specimen off Cape Clear in the winter of 

 1848, and which is now in the Dublin University Museum. 



The example figured is nine inches in length and was captured at Brixham, 

 along with several more, in the summer of 1880. The largest British specimen 

 recorded measured fifteen inches in length. 



