THE URANOSCOPUS. 89 



auratus, perhaps, conspicuous for the bright 

 golden spots about its head. The " sea / a ^X tc " 

 was probably, as the old commentators have sug- 

 gested, the Sardine. 



The red mullet, Mullus barbatus, is abundant 

 everywhere on the coast of Asia Minor, and is 

 by far the most delicious of all the fishes of the 

 Mgeaiu It is caught in great numbers in the 

 sheltered bays. It was the rpiyXri of the ancients. 

 In sandy creeks the Uranoscopus is frequent. 

 This strange and ugly fish, whose eyes and mouth 

 are alike turned heavenwards, buries itself in the 

 sand, all but the flat surface of its head. It thus 

 lies in wait for its prey, which it snatches when 

 unguardedly passing over and by it. When sail- 

 ing over the sandy beds of the little bays in- 

 denting the coast, we could see, through the clear 

 water at a depth of four or five feet, the bright 

 eyes of the Uranoscopus, gleaming in the sand like 

 gems, the body of the creature being invisible. 

 Species of sole and other flat fish are found in 

 similar situations, but none of size and flavour 

 to compare with our English kinds. The Tor- 

 pedo, of which the dark claret-red kind (Torpedo 

 narke) is most frequent, also occurs in sandy 

 bays. 



