310 PLAGIOSTOMATA. 



Squalus elegans, Blainv. 1. c. p. 73. 



Hough hound, Couch, Fish. Brit. Isles, i, p. 14, pi. ii. 



Anterior portion of body somewhat rounded, becoming compressed towards 

 the tail ; head broad and flattened superiorly ; snout rounded. Eyes — rather 

 large, and as far from the end of the snout as they are apart. Spiracles present. 

 Nasal valves destitute of a cirrhus and forming a single broad flap, which inferiorly 

 reaches as low as the mouth. Nostrils on the lower surface of the head, and much 

 nearer to the mouth than to the end of the snout. A fold at the side of the lower 

 jaw. Mouth semi-circular. Teeth — in several rows in both jaws, with a central 

 and lateral cusp on either side. Gill-openings — of moderate size, the last the 

 smallest, it and the fourth being situated over the base of the pectoral fin. Fins — 

 first dorsal commencing about the centre of the total length, and is rather larger 

 than the second. V.entrals a little in advance of the first dorsal, obliquely truncated 

 posterioi'ly, their margins meeting at an acute angle like a lozenge, in the centre 

 of which is the vent. Anal entirely anterior to the second dorsal, being below the 

 interspace between the two dorsals. Skin rough if the hand is passed towards 

 the head. Lower caudal lobe rather large, trapezoid in shape ; posterior lobe 

 cut square at its extremity. Colours — body and fins more or less stone-coloured 

 or grayish-red, finely blotched and spotted with red, gray, black, or brown, 

 becoming less numerous posteriorly. These spots are said to be generally fewer 

 and somewhat larger in the female than they are in the male. It has been 

 pointed out that in the male sex the ventral fins are larger than in the female, 

 and are likewise united along the entire, or almost entire, extent of their inner 

 edge one to the other, whereas in the female the last third of then' inner edges 

 are separated one from the other. 



Names. — Spotted, small-spotted, and lesser-spotted dog-fish : row-hound : rough- 

 hound : morghi. Rider terms the dog-fish the cur-fish, hennett, and daggar. It is 

 likewise known as the hund or hund-fish, or huss. Daiv-fish, Orkneys ; Blin e'es, 

 Aberdeen; Sea-nurse, Redcar ; Robin huss, Sussex ; Suss, Isle of Wight ; Morgay, 

 Cornwall and Scotland ; Land-dog, Penzance. Morg hi meiaf, Welsh. Dehondshaal, 

 Dutch. La grande Housette, French. 



Habits. — Migratory, and said to remain longer in the Orkneys than its 

 cogeners, as all through the summer single examples are captured. In aquaria 

 it is found to be nocturnal in its habits. It seems to prefer a sandy bottom. 

 It is very tenacious of life, and Mr. Ogilby remarks that one taken from the stomach 

 of a skate, which had been caught at least three hours, although at first 

 appearing, and not unnaturally, rather sick, on being thrown into the dock, swam 

 gaily away after the lapse of a few minutes apparently none the worse. When 

 seized, it throws its body round the arm that holds it, and, should it not be at 

 once dropped, by a contractile and reversed action of its body, it grates over the 

 surface with the rugged spines of its skin like a rasp, by which the surface 

 is severely lacerated. Mr. Dunn remarks that the water which drops from these 

 fishes when taken from the sea will turn a cod or pollack almost white, and 

 will injure their sale. Thompson found in one a Gunnellus vtdgaris and many 

 opercula of the whelk, Buccinum undatum. It is a voracious feeder, subsisting 

 largely on small fishes. In a specimen I received from Mr. Dunn, Mevagissey, 

 in February, 1884, I found a moderately-sized squid, Loligo vulgaris, several 

 annelides, Nereis, one isopod, Conilera cylindracea, some small bits of Crustacea, and 

 many intestinal worms. It is very partial to sea-worms, and its flat nose is well 

 adapted to rout them out of the sand. 



Means of capture. — Nets, within two or three miles of the coast, especially 

 during or after a storm : and also by hooks and lines. 



Baits. — Takes a bait freely. 



Breeding. — It breeds in captivity, as observed by Meyer (Zool. Garten, 1872, 

 p. 371). Likewise, M. Costa (Compt. Rend. 1867, January 21st, p. 99) remarked 

 that "at the commencement of April, 1866, M. Guil Ion writes to me, 'We put 

 into one of the compartments of the vivarium a pair of the little spotted dog-fish, 

 Squalus catulus, Linn. The female laid eighteen eggs in the course of the 

 month. These eggs hatched at the beginning of December : the incubation, 



