PLATE XXXIII. 
parts of Europe ; and is considered as a fish of excellent flavour j yet 
it is seldom taken, except for baiting the hooks by the fishermen, t® 
catch other fish. 
At the ebb of the sea it buries itself at about the depth of a foot 
in the sand, and there remains concealed till the .returning tide: 
sometimes at low water its nose may be just perceived above the 
surface of the sand, and in general its lurking place may be discovered 
by a little dimple or bubbling in the sand. 
These fish grow to the length of ten or twelve inches : on our 
coasts they are more frequently observed about two or three inches 
less. They feed on worms, and are the prey of the Porpesse, and 
other voracious creatures : in the month of May they deposit their 
spawn in the sands. 
In the dorsal fin of one specimen in our possession are fifty-four 
rays : in the pectoral fin fifteen : anal twenty-eight ; and caudal six- 
teen. 
