16 ANACANTHINI. 



would appear to have less rays in the dorsal and anal fins than observed off the 

 coasts of Great Britain. He also remarks upon a Mediterranean variety in which 

 the anterior rays of the dorsal fin are much less branched than is usual, 

 Pleuronectes pavonina, Costa, is the young of this species. 



Names. — Pearl, kite, brett, " brit " in Cornish means " spotted." Upon the 

 coasts of Devonshire and Cornwall it is known by the name of " kite " (Pennant, 

 ed. 1812). Bastard turbot, Moray Firth: siller fluke, Aberdeen: bonnet fluek, 

 Aberlady Bay : used to be termed lug-a-leaf in Cornwall (Willughby). La 

 Barbue, French. 



Habits. — Found in sandy bays, also in deep water, and occasionally enters 

 the estuaries formed by large rivers. It feeds on Crustacea, small fish and food 

 similar to that consumed by the turbot. 



Means of capture. — Similar to what are adopted for the turbot. In the Firth 

 of Forth it is mostly taken by the hook, but not so along the Cornish coast. 



Breeding. — Said to spawn in spring (Parnell). 



As food. — Abundant in our markets, but not held in so much esteem as the 

 turbot, yet is superior to the plaice. In Ireland it is most esteemed in spring. 



Habitat. — Coasts of Europe, becoming rarer towards the north. It is found 

 round the British Isles and through the Mediterranean. It is rare in the Orkneys 

 and Zetland (Baikie) : also off Banff (Edward) : it is taken at Aberdeen (Sim) : 

 occasionally in the Moray Firth, while it is abundant at St. Andrew's (Mcintosh). 

 Neill records it at Aberlady Bay, Parnell in the Firth of Forth : while off 

 Torkshire it is resident and not uncommon (Yorkshire Vertebrata) : Norfolk 

 estuary common (Paget) : it is found generally along the east coast becoming, 

 however, abundant along the south coast. 



In Ireland it is common round the coast, taken with, but much more 

 abundant on sand banks than the turbot, on the north-east coast at least four to 

 one (Thompson). 



The example figured was from the south coast. As to the size it attains on 

 our shores, Yarrell states that it rarely exceeds 8 lb. in weight, Parnell 10 lb. 

 while Thompson's finest example was two feet in length. 



