50 
PICKET DOG. 
common Dogfish, hut which may he known from the latter by 
having its nostrils close to the snout, instead of being midway 
between that and the mouth. Its colour is also different, and 
that too in a remarkable way; for, as Lacepede observes, con- 
trary to what is found in most fishes, and among the Sharks 
more especially, while the back is only dusky, the belly is very 
dark, and almost black. This part is also distinguished by 
having tubercles. It is a smaller fish than the British species, 
and is found in the Mediterranean, but we have no means of 
knowing what are its distinguishing habits, except that it 
appears to be less a wanderer than the Picked Dog. It was 
Linna;us who first definitely fixed the name of Acanthias to 
the last-name^ fish, and Spinax to the other species, which has 
not been taken in Britain. 
The Picked Dog is the smallest, but by far the most abundant 
of British Sharks. It is found at all seasons on the coast of 
every part of the united kingdom, but in the greatest numbers 
in the west and south; where at times they exist in such mul- 
titudes, as to occupy the full extent of sea for scores of miles; 
and twenty thousand have been taken in a sean at one time, 
without any apparent lessening of the numbers. Unlike other 
Sharks, and almost all other fishes, it is not affected by cold 
or heat in the severest seasons; and I have known them caught 
when from severe cold every fish, except a straggling few of 
the Gadoid family, as ling, cods, or haddocks, had gone for 
shelter into deep water 
From the numbers of these fish that are met with, it may he 
concluded that this species is exceedingly prolific, and in this 
respect they differ so far from the others which frequent our 
coasts, that for nine or ten months in the year, the female 
produces young almost every day; the eggs existing in the 
formative organ to the amount of many scores at one time, and 
descending in successive pairs into the two branches or horns 
of the receptacle, as the former are excluded; and not un- 
frequently their descent is by twos and threes on either side. 
Sometimes a couple of young ones are seen attached to one 
egg; and as their development is speedy, there is no possibility 
of calculating the numbers which each female is capable of 
producing in a season. 
The young ones, with teeth and jaws too feeble to assault 
