686 PLEURO 
able to the work of propagation. They live on final! fifh, 
efpecially (hell-fifh and fnails ; the (hells of many of which 
have been found pulverifed in their ftomachs. The plaife 
attains to a pretty good fize, weighing fometimes fifteen 
or fixteen pounds. They fpawn in February and March, 
laying their eggs between Hones and on weeds. In fome 
countries they have the following method of fifliing for 
plaife. The fifherman feek out a fmooth place cn or near 
the fliore, or on a fand-bank ; when they fee a plaife, 
they throw a lead (tied to a firing) with three or 
four crooked iron teeth; if the hooks fall full on the 
the body, the circular motion of the fand (hows the fifh¬ 
erman that the fifli is ftruggling to difengage itfelf. Some¬ 
times, where the water is not deep, they firike the fifh 
with the fame kind of hook faftened to a pole, and it fel- 
dom efcapes ; but in both cafes it is neceflary the boat 
(hould be quite ftill ; and, if any (mail waves agitate the 
water, they endeavour to produce an artificial calm by 
pouring oil, which generally has the defired effect. 
The plaife is a well-tafted fifh, and pretty generally ef- 
teemed ; but it is not every-whereequally good ; the (mall 
and thin ones are bad, becaufe the Refit becomes (oft and 
flabby in drefiing ; but the large ones are firm in Refit, fat, 
and well-tafted ; the former are of a bluifti white under¬ 
neath, the latter of a reddiflt blue. The word of them 
may be falted and dried ; but the largeft and beft are dried 
alfo ; and, taking off the fkin, they are eaten with bread 
inftead of cheefe. 
Belonius, Rondeletius, Gefner, and Androvandus, have 
reprefented this fifti with the eyes on the left fide: this 
miftake ntuft have arifen from thofe authors not having 
been fufficientjy exaCl in directing their engravers. In 
Jonfton the fifh is reprefented twice as we have faid, and 
the third time it is right. In Ruyfch, who copied Jon- 
flon’s engravings, the tails of all the figures are directed 
to that fide where the heads are in Jonfton, and vice 
verfa. This circumftance, which is of no confequence in 
copying engravings in general, is of real importance here, 
becaufe the pofition of the eyes in thefe fifties forms their 
diftinguifhing character; and this remifinefs in the defigns 
has often unneceffarily multiplied the number of fpecies 
with the old naturalifts. The plaife is reprefented on 
the annexed Engraving, at fig. 2. 
9. PleuroneCfes fieffus, the flounder: lateral line 
rough ; fliort fpines on the right fide of the fins. There 
are 6 rays in the membrane of the gills, 12 in each pec¬ 
toral fin, 6 in each ventral, 44 in the anal, 16 in the tail, 
and 59 in the dorfal fin. The prickles of the head and 
body, when examined through a microfcope, are fome of 
them crooked, others ftraight : the former are fcattered 
all over the furface of the body; the latter on the lateral 
line and the lower edge of the ventral, anal, and dorfal, 
fins, where they are placed croffwife on the long emi¬ 
nences which are found on thofe fins. 
The upper fide of this fifh is of a dark brown colour, 
with brown, olive, yellowifh green, and black, fpots; the 
under fide is white, (haded with brown, and fome black 
fpots; on this fide are feen the prickles of the under edge 
of the fins and the lateral line. Both fides are furnifhed 
with thin oblong fcales., fo funk in and faftened to the 
fkin as hardly to be perceived. The aperture of the 
mouth is fir.aH, and the under jaw longer than the upper; 
the tongue is (hort and narrow, and in the gullet are two 
round rough bones. The eyes are prominent; pupil 
black, iris yellow. The covers of the gills form a blunted 
point, and their aperture is wide. The lateral line, which 
approaches a little towards the back, forms a bend above 
the pectoral fin, and is loft in the middle of the tail-fin. 
The fins are brownifh ; thofe of the anus, tail, and back, 
are fpotted with black; in other refpefts they refemble 
the plaife ; there is a ftrong prickle between the anal and 
ventral fins. 
The flounder abounds not only in the North Sea, but 
in the Baltic alfo ; in fpring, they come to the mouths 
cf rivers to fpawn; with us in England they come 
NECTES. 
very high up the rivers. According to Willughby, the 
flefti of the river Rounder is fofter and whiter than of 
thofe taken at fea. The flounders taken in rivers have 
fo much the colour of a fparrow, that fome authors have 
called it paffer fluviatilis, the fea-fparrow. They are caught 
in great plenty in the rivers of England; alfo in the 
Seine, near Tournedos, below Pont de l’Arche. In Pqme- 
rania,nearRugenwald, they fifh for them from fpring till 
autumn; for after Midfummer their flefti becomes more 
plump and fat. Their goodnefs depends in general on 
the country they have bred in, and the plenty or fcarcity 
of food they have met with : thofe taken near Memel 
are accounted the beft of the Baltic, though not to com¬ 
pare with the plaife. Neitherdo they grow fo large; the 
biggeft will not weigh more than fix pounds, and in Eng¬ 
land they are feldom found any-thing near that weight. 
They are tenacious of life, and grow faftelt in frefli water; 
but will live in almoft any water; and they have lately 
been tranfported and bred in the ponds of Friezeland. 
jo. Pleuroneftes rofeus, the rofe-coloured flounder: 
body rofy, fins pale yellow-brown. Sixty rays in the 
dorfal fin, 12 in the pectorals, 7 in the ventrals, 42 in the 
anal, 20 in the caudal. A fpecimen of this, caught in 
the Thames, was preferved in the Leverian Mufeum, and 
defcribed in Nat. Mifc. No. 79. tab. 238. The body is in 
fome parts (lightly tinged with yellowifh, in others with 
filvery white, without any vifible fcales, though marked 
with minute fcale-like reticulations ; lateral fine nearly 
ftraight. 
11. Pleuroneftes limanda, the dab : fcales final!, ciliatep 
fpinules at the root of the dorfal and anal fins, with ob- 
tufe teeth. There are 6 rays in the membrane of the 
gills, 11 in the peCtoral fins, 6 in the ventrals, 61 in the 
anal, 15 in the tail, 66 in the dorfal. The dab is yellow 
on the upper fide, -white on the under; and both fides 
are covered with pretty large fcales. The head is (mail, 
oblong, and the aperture of the mouth narrow. The 
jaws are of equal length, the upper containing many- 
more fmall teeth than the lower. The eyes protrude, 
and have a black pupil furrounded with a gold-coloured 
iris. The lateral line, which is blackifh, begins near the 
eyes, and runs to the tail-fin. The fins are white on the 
under fide, and of a yeliovvifti brown on the upper; but 
the tail-fin is dark-brown ; the rays of the anal and dorfal 
fins are covered with fcales; and there is a fpine at the 
anus. This fpecies is found in the Baltic, Mediter¬ 
ranean, and North Sea. They are not fo plenty as the 
plaife and flounder ; but they are caught and prepared 
in the fame manner; and in February and April are in 
greateft perfection. They live on infeCts and worms, 
particularly cn fmall crabs. Bloch fays he never could 
difcover the minute prickles which Linnaeus defcribes on 
the ventral and dorfal fins, and which he makes the fpe- 
cific character. 
12. PleuroneCtes laevis, the fmear-dab: brown with 
obfcure yellow fpots, beneath white with five large dulky 
fpots ; fcales fmooth ; 79 rays in the dorfal fin. The 
head is fmall, the mouth furniftied with fmall teeth; the 
lateral line much curved for the firfi two inches, after¬ 
wards ftraight. Inhabits Europe ; length, eighteen 
inches. 
13. Pleurone&es limandoides, the rough orlongdah: 
body oblong ; lateral line broad and ftraight. There are 
11 rays in the peCloral fins, 6 in the ventrals, 63 in the 
anal, 15 in the tail, and 79 in the dorfal, as before. 
The head is fmall; the aperture of the mouth large ; the 
jaws are armed with feveral rows of fttarp teeth. The 
tongue is loofe, thin, and fmooth, as is the palate; 
there are two roug-h bones in the throat; the upper lip 
confifts of two bones which the fifh can protrude and 
contrail at will; above are the noftrils, which are round, 
and lie in a hollow. The'eyes, which are near together, 
have a black pupil with a filvery iris. The cover of the 
gills is only one thin plate, and is furnifhed with little 
lcales, as well as the relt of the head ; the aperture of the. 
2 
