• /• i >« 
r\ f 
PLATE XVII. 
Squalus capite plagioplatco lato, ore in apice capitis, naribus cirrosis- 
Gron . Mus. 1 . 137. Zooph. 151. 
Rhina sive Squatina autorum. Klein, miss. pise. 3. p. 14. n. 1* 
t. 2. /. 5. 6. 
Angel Fish. Penn. Brit . Zool. T. 3. p. 93. 39. 
L’Angelot de Mer. Block. 
The Angel Fish appears to be an intermediate creature betwee* 
the two genera Rays and Sharks ; although it is with most pro- 
priety referred to the latter. Of its fierceness and voracity, there 
are many instances ; and it grows sometimes to such an enormous 
size, as to become truly formidable. Mr. Pennant knew an instance 
of a fisherman whose leg was terribly torn by a large one, which 
lay within his nets in shallow water, and which he went to lay hold 
of incautiously. 
Like the Ray, the Angel Fish feeds on flounders and other flat 
fish, which keep at the bottom of the water ; and haunts our coasts 
in abundance. They are sometimes caught, and brought to the 
fish markets, where they are sold under the name of Fiddle Fish , 
or Puppy Fish : the flesh is very indifferent, and the price of course 
is inconsiderable. Among the ancients it was in great esteem as an 
article of food ; they considered it the most delicate of the wind® 
cartilaginous tribe. 
Tire largest creature of this kind that is recorded as a native ni 
our seas, weighed nearly an hundred weight : in the North and 
Mediterranean Seas, where it is also very frequent, there are nr- 
