§08 
VARIEGATED SOLE 
THICKBAOK. BASTARD SOLE. RED-BACKED SOLE. 
Fleuroned.es variegahis, 
Donovan; pi. 117. 
Risso. 
Fleming; Br. Animals, p. 197. 
Yareell; Br. Fishes, vol. ii, p. 353. 
GtEntuer; Cat. Br. Museum, vol. iv, 
“ Ilnngillii, 
Solea variegata, 
Monochirus variegatus, 
Solea variegata, 
p. 469. 
This species is not mentioned among Scandinavian fishes by 
Nilsson nor Eckstrom; but its range extends to the north ol 
Scotland, and it is known along the coasts of Ireland. Risso 
also met with it in the Mediterranean, where, however, he 
says it is rare. And yet this apparent scarcity may be ratlier 
from the mode of fishing usually jiractiscd than from the absence 
of the fish; as it was formerly said to be also little known in 
England, whereas in the markets of Plymouth and Penzance it 
appears equally plentiful with the Common Sole. I have not 
known an instance of its having taken a hook, even when the 
other Sole is sometimes caught; from which the conclusion may 
be drawn that not only is its food different, but that it also 
keeps in deeper water, where the smaller hooks are not employed. 
The smaller specimens are sometimes found in the stomachs of 
fishes from a depth of forty or fifty fathoms. It is ranked 
among the superior fishes for the table. 
The Thickback seldom exceeds the length of eight or nine 
inches, and in its general proportions it much resembles the 
Common Sole, but with a little wider oval, and in its substance 
it is thicker. The head is rounded in front, where it advances 
beyond the mouth and lower jaw: the mouth itself small and 
twisted. The lower eye rather smaller than the upper, and 
