48 



Part III. — Twentii-first Annual Report 



measured 96 mm. (3| inches), 100, 106, 107, and 125 mm. In 

 twenty to thirty fathoms in July the smallest procured was 102 mm. 

 In the Moray >^irth in April and June the smallest were 105, 110, 

 118, and 138 mm. In the Clyde in March, in twenty-five fathoms, 

 males as small as 84 mm. (3| inches) and 87 mm. were taken, and in 

 October others which measured 87, 96, and 97 mm. It is noteworthy 

 that in the numerous catches of the shrimp-boats in the Solway Firth 

 which I examined throughout the year no lemon soles were present. 



The rarity of the small lemon dabs under four inches ma}^ be due to 

 some extent to the inefficiency of the apparatus used in most cases. 

 The meshes of my fine-net were certainly small enough to take them 

 much under that size, and did in fact capture large numbers of dabs 

 and long rough dabs very much smaller. But it is possible that the 

 small individuals are not always raised from the bottom by the 

 ground-rope, especially of the larger trawl-nets. When small flat- 

 fishes kept in tanks are disturbed or frightened they bury themselves 

 in the sand, only the eyes remaining visible ; and if they do so when 

 the ground-rope approaches, or disturbs them, it will pass over them. 

 Larger forms no doubt also bury themselves, but when the ground- 

 rope touches them they dart forwards and upwards, getting above it 

 and into the net. The lemon dab, however, prefers hard ground, and it 

 is not improbable that the smaller forms exist in greater numbers in 

 .places where the trawl cannot be used. 



There is one remarkable circumstance about the lemon dab which 

 was noticed, viz., the occasional occurrence of ripe individuals both 

 male and female of an exceptionally small size. As a rule few females 

 have been observed to be mature under nine or ten inches. Holt 

 found one mature at eight inches on the Irish coast ; and Cunningham 

 gives 8*2 and nine inches as the lower limit. Holt first fixed ten 

 inches and then twelve inches as the limit between mature and 

 immature, the latter for the North Sea. The male is stated to become 

 mature at a smaller size and as small as six inches.* The follow- 

 ing are records of much smaller ripe specimens of both sexes. In a 

 haul made in the Clyde on 5th September, in twenty-five fathoms, 

 east of Rhuad Point, Cantyre, forty-three lemon soles were taken. 

 Among them were two recently spent females measuring twelve and 

 three-quarters, and eleven and a quarter inches, the others ranging 

 from 212 to 114 mm. (8|-4| inches). I found one female, 173 mm. 

 in length and weighing 57'7 grammes, just spent, some mature eggs 

 being still in the cavity of the ovary. Another 147 mm. in length (5| 

 inches) contained fully ripe eggs and was spawning ; the weight of the 

 fish was 26*03 grammes; and another 171 mm. in length and weighing 

 53'15 grammes was also spent. The others were immature, those of 

 141, 137, 137, 123, and even 166 mm., having very minute eggs. 

 In other hauls made in from twenty to thirty-five fathoms, between 

 Sanda Island and Bennan Head, four or five miles south of Ailsa 

 Craig, on 14th March, a male 138 mm. (5| inches) long was quite ripe, 

 and two 84 mm. (3 inches) and 87 mm. (3^^ inches) were very 

 nearly ripe, the testes being large and white. A female 115 mm. (4| 

 inches long) had eggs measuring 0*14 mm. 



Several small mature specimens were also obtained in the Moray 

 Firth. On 14th June, in thirty fathoms, fifteen miles E.S.E. of Tarbet 

 Ness, a female, 138 mm. (5|- inches) was found to be mature with quite 

 ripe eggs flowing ; the weight of the fish was 22*6 grammes, or con- 

 siderably under one ounce, and the weight of the ovaries 1*45 grammes. 



* Eighth Ann. Re-port, Part III., p. 162 (1889) ; Tenth ibid., p. 239a. Journ. Mar. 

 Biol. Assoc., ii., pp. 218, 244 (1892) ; ibid., iii., p. 377 (1895). 



