P L E 
G84 
Illyrian mountains, not far from the fource of the Drino. 
It is the fee of a Greek bilhop, and contains 3000 inhabit¬ 
ants. 
PLEU'MANGAT, a town of France, in the depart¬ 
ment of the North Coafts: thirteen miles fouth-fouth-weft 
of Dinan. 
PLEUMAU'DAN, a town of France, in the depart¬ 
ment of the North Coafts: fix miles fouth-fouth-weft: of 
Dinan. 
PLEU'NOS, a town of Africa, in Barca. Lat. 31.40. N. 
Ion.25.20. E. 
PLEU'RA, /. A thin membrane covering the infide 
of the thorax. 
PLEU'RISY, f. [ pleuritis , from pleura, Lat.] Pleurify 
is an inflammation of the pleura, though it is hardly dif- 
tinguifliable from an inflammation of any other part of 
the breaft, which are,all from the fame caufe, a ftagnated 
blood 5 and are to be remedied by evacuation, fuppura- 
tion, or expectoration, or all together. Quincy. —See vol. 
xix. p. 242. 
PLEURIT'IC, or Pleuritical, adj. Difeafed with 
a pleurify.—The vifcous matter, which lies like leather 
upon the extravafated blood of pleuritick people, may 
be diflolved by a due degree of heat. Arbuthnot on 
Aliments. — One is fick of the pleuritical flitches of envy ; 
one of the contracting cramp of covetoufnels; another 
of the atrophy of unproficiency. Bp. Hall’s Contempt .— 
Denoting a pleurify.—His blood was pleuritical, it had 
neither colour nor confluence. WiJ'eman’s Surgery. 
PLEU'RODYNE, f. [from pleura, and Gr. pain.] 
Signifies a pain of the fide, independent of inflammation, 
as pleuritis denotes the pain arifing from inflammation. 
It is the name of one of Sauvage’s genera. See the article 
Pathology, vol. xix. p. 244. 
PLEU'RON, in ancient geography, the name of two 
towns in iEtolia, the Old and the New ; the former fitua- 
ted near Calyon, and the latter near Mount Aracynfhus. 
PLEURONEC'TES, f. [from %'Kiv^a,, Gr. the fide, and 
neElo, Lat. to conneCt, or bring together; the eyes being 
both on the fame fide, or perhaps from the fifti having the 
appearance of two fifties joined together by the fides.] 
The Sole,Flounder, &c. in ichthyology, agenus of tho¬ 
racic fifties. Generic characters—Head fmall 5 eyes fphe- 
rical, both on the fame fide of the head, and near each 
other; mouth arched ; jaws unequal, toothed; gill-mem¬ 
brane with from four to feven rays; the cover generally 
of three laminae; the body is convex and coloured above; 
flat and paler beneath ; the vent is nearer the head than 
the tail. 
This genus, which confifts of forty fpecies, comprehends 
thofe which are denominated flat fi/h. The ftruCture of 
this filh is confidered as one of the moft curious deviations 
from the general uniformity or regularity obferved by 
nature in the external figure of animals, in which, with a 
few exceptions, both fides of the body are perfectly fimi- 
lar; but in the genus PleuroneCtes, the animal is fo con- 
ftifuted, that one fide appears to reprefent the back, and 
the oppofite fide the abdomen. They fwim obliquely or 
on their fides, and the two eyes are always placed on one 
fide, and it is from this circumftance that the feCtions 
into which the fpecies are divided, are conftituted ; that 
is, according as the e.yes are on the right or on the left 
fide. Thefifti of this genus refideat or near the bottom of 
the water, owingto theirhaving no air-bladder; they often 
bury themfelves in the fand as far as the head, by which 
means they efcape the jaws of the more rapacious tribes; 
the eyes are covered with a niClitant membrane ; the nof- 
trils are double, and contiguous. The belly is very ftiort, 
and not fuftained by ribs. The anus is near the head. 
There are moftiy feven fins : two peClorals, two fliort ven- 
trals, one tail, one anal, and one dorfal : the two laft are 
very long, the others round and ftiort. Some fpecies, 
however, are deftitnte of peCforal fins ; thefe, Cepede has 
leparated into a diftinCf genus, under the name of achirus, 
or “ without hands.” As thefe filh have no air-bladder, 
P L E 
it is eafily underftood. why they are rarely feen on the fur- 
face of the water. The horizontal fhape of the tail-fin 
enables them to rife and fink with great celerity; but the 
want of an air-bladder prevents them from remaining 
long in an elevated pofition. 
The fifties of this genus are many of them excellent 
food, and found in great plenty in our feas. From their 
extreme voracity, they are not difficult to take with the 
hook and line. Sometimes they have been known to 
fwallow the plummet at the end of the founding-line, 
while the failors were taking the depth of the water. They 
are alfo found in the Baltic, but particularly in the North¬ 
ern ocean ; fome fpecies are found in the Mediterranean 
and in America. They live moftiy on infeCis andworms. 
We fliall follow the divifion of Linnaeus relative to 
thofe fpecies which have the eyes on the right fide and 
thofe which have them on the left. This divifion is as 
old as the time of Pliny. To judge in which divifion to 
place any one of this genus, fet the filh upright on the 
rim of the belly, then, (landing with the tail towards you, 
fee whether the eyes are to your right or left hand. Thus 
the plaife, flounder, foie, and holibut, have them on the 
right fide ; the turbot on the left. As it is very common, 
in copying engravings, to reverie the pofition of the 
figures, this has given rife to many erroneous reprefenta- 
tions of the fifties of this genus. Cepede has mentioned 
one miftake of this kind which occurred in his 3d vol. 
but has overlooked another in his 4th vol. pi. 14. fig. 1, 
p. 638. where the Chinefe pleuroneftes is reprefented with 
the eyes on the left fide, which are really on the right. 
We (hall have occafion to mention other miftakes of this 
kind as we proceed. 
I. Eyes on the right fide. 
1. Pleuronefles trichodaflylus, the fmall-finned foie s 
body rough, pedloral fins filiform, minute. There are 53 
rays in the dorfal fin, 4 in the peftorals, 6 in the ventrals, 
48 in the anal, 10 in the caudal. Defcribed by Artedi. It 
refembles the common foie; the right fide is brown, and 
fpotted, the left white: the lateral line ftraight; the teeth 
are fo fmall as hardly to be diftinguiflied. The pedloral fins 
are fo fmall, that only one ray can be diftinguilhed on the 
left fide: the Greek compound trichodaftilvs exprefles the 
minutenefs and form of the fingers or rays of thefe fins, 
which are as fmall as threads. Inhabits Amboyna; 
four inches. 
2. Pleuronefles zebra, the zebra foie, or fea zebra. 
This fpecies is diftinguiflied by the ftripes, refembling a 
zebra, all down the body. The peftoral fins have 4 rays 
each, the ventrals 6, the anal 48, the dorfal 87, the tail 10; 
this fin is pointed. This is one of the fpecies newly dif- 
covered by Bloch. The body is lengthened; the mouth 
arched ; the upper jaw is longer than the lower, but both 
are armed with little (harp teeth. The eyes are very fmall, 
the pupil is only a black dot, the iris fea-green. Only 
one noftril can be perceived either on the upper or under 
fide. The covering of the gills is large, and the aperture 
wide. The whole body is covered with jagged fcales, fo 
that the fifti is rough to the touch. The lateral line be¬ 
gins at the upper eye, and palfes ftraight to the tail. The 
anus is farther from the head than in the other fpecies. 
The ground-colour of the upper fide is brownifti towards 
the edges, and white in the middle, with tranfverfe brown 
ftripes or bands: thefe bands are generally two together, 
but towards the tail they run one into the other. The 
fins have alfo yellow and brown bands. The rays of all 
the fins are (ingle, except thofe of the tail, which are fork¬ 
ed ; but the fins do not feem to have any fcales as in the 
other fpecies; the pedloral fins are fo fmall, that it requires 
a very exa6l attention to diftinguilh them ; the dorfal and 
anal fins are united to that of the tail; the former begins 
at the upper lip. This fpecies is originally from the Eaft 
Indies; it is well-tailed like the reft of the foies, and its 
food is the fame. It is reprefented in the annexed Engra¬ 
ving, at fig 1. 
3. Pleu- 
