GS7 
PLEURONECTES. 
gills Is wide, and the branchial membrane is hid under 
the cover. The fcales of the body are large and jagged, 
To that the filh is very difagreeable to handle againft the 
grain. The upper lide is of a yellow brown colour, in¬ 
clining to white ; the under fide, as in moll of the 
fpecies, is quite white. The lateral line, which origi¬ 
nates not far from the eyes, is wide, and pafles through 
the middle of the body. The anus is at the edge, not 
far from the ventral fins. The rays of tlie dorfal, anal, 
and tail, fins, are ornamented with finall fcales, and cou¬ 
riered by a tranfparent membrane; the dorfal begins 
over the eye, and extends almoft to the tail-fin ; the fin 
of the tail as well as thofe of the anus and belly, has 
fimple rays; but thofe of the bread: and back are bifur¬ 
cated. 
This fpecies refembles very much the dab and plaife; 
yet it differs from the former by the ftraightnefs of the 
lateral line and the roundnefs of the tail-fin; from the 
latter by the clofenefs and jaggednefs of the fcales ; 
and from both by the body being more lengthened. 
Thefe reafons induced Bloch, whofirft made it known, 
to rank it as a diftindi fpecies ; and as fuch it is now re¬ 
ceived by GifSelin. The l’pecimen Bloch defcribes he 
received from Holland, where they catch them with a 
hook not far from Heligoland. They haunt the deep 
parts of the fea, living on young crabs and lobfters; 
their flefh is white and well-tailed. 
14. Pleuronedtes limandula, Duhamel’sdab : teeth blunt; 
fcales round and fmooth ; lips thick ; mouth fmall ; tail- 
fin almoft ftraight. The dorfal fin has 80 rays, the pec¬ 
torals 9, the ventrals 6, and the caudal 17. The right 
fide is of a light brown colour, witli white and dark- 
brown fpots ; left fide white. The eyes are oval, and 
very near together; the lateral line is firft bent, after¬ 
wards ftraight. Pedloral and ventral fins yellow'. Length 
eighteen or twenty inches. 
15. Pleuronedles folea, the f’ole: known by the protu- 
fion of the upper jaw and the rough uneven fcales. 
There are 6 rays in the membrane of the gills, 10 in the 
pedloral fins, 7 in the ventral, 61 in the anal, 17 in the 
tail, and 81 in the dorfal. 
This well-known fifh is about three times as long as 
broad. Both fides are covered with little hard jagged 
fcales, very-ftrongly adhering, and therefore rough to the 
touch. The upper fide is brown, the lower w'hite. The 
head is fmall, rounded above. The aperture of the 
mouth is remarkable, the upper jaw being crefcent- 
fliaped ; and the lower jaw only is furnifhed with feveral 
rows of final! fliarp teeth ; Bomare fays this fifh has no 
teeth at all; bur, as the foie is common enough with 11s, 
any one may convince himfelf of the fallacy of that af- 
fertion ; in the gullet are two round bones above, and 
two long ones below, all ftirnifbed with afperities, or 
little teeth. There is a number of fmall white barbies at 
the lower edge of the jaws. The noftrils are cylindrical, 
one above, the other below', (though Artedius fays they 
are both on the upper fide,) near the mouth. The eyes 
are not fo clofe as in fome fpecies ; the pupil is blue, the 
iris yellow'. The cover of the gills is round, confiding 
of one plate, under which the membrane lies concealed. 
The lateral line is ftraight, rather nearer the back than 
the belly. The ventral and pedloral fins are finall ; 
under the laft, and pear the head, lies the anus; and 
near the anus is a fliort 'ftrong fpine. The dorfal fin 
begins juft above the mouth ; the anal clofe to the ven¬ 
tral; both end in the tail-fin, and the rays of both are 
covered with fcales almoft half-way ; the tail-fin is round, 
with branched rays. All the fins are olive-coloured 
above, white below. This fpecies haunts not only the 
Baltic and North feas, but alfo the Mediterranean and 
the waters of Surinam ; fo that it is not only known to 
the Europeans, but alfo to the Turks, Arabs, and Ame¬ 
ricans, as may be feen in Forfkal and Firmin. Yet they 
are taken but rarely in the Baltic about Pomerania ; 
but they are fiflied up in great quantities on the coalts of 
Orytena and St. Antiochia in Sardinia. They live on th e 
fpawn and young of other fifh ; and the > crabs eat its 
young in return. 
The flefh of the foie is firm, delicate, and of a pleafing 
flavour. They grow to the length of eighteen inches, 
and even more, in fome of our feas. They are often 
found of that fize in Torbay, from whence they are fent 
to market at Exeter and feveral other towns in Devon¬ 
shire and the adjacent counties. It is faid that the fmall 
foies caught in the north feas are of a much fuperior 
talle than the large ones which the fouthern and weftern 
coafts afford. This fifh is greatly efteemed in France, 
where they call it perdrix de mer, lea-partridge. Like all 
other good things, it fhould be taken in moderation. A 
mufician of fame, having travelled, in his harmonical 
tour, not unlike Dr. Burney, as far as Marfeilles, found 
there this fifh fo delicate, fo much to his tafte, that he 
died of an indigeftion after eating too much of it. His 
friends erefled a tomb to his memory; and a W3g among 
them gave the following epitaph : 
which, being read according to the French gamut and 
pronunciation, gives thefe words, La J'ole Va mis Id; 
“The foie placed him there.” 
The fame confufion which we remarked before is found 
in the drawings of this fpecies in various authors. In 
Belon, who firft gave a defcription of the foie, the eyes 
are on the right fide; in Rondeletius on the left; 
Gefner has reprefented them one time on the right, 
and another on the left. In Aldrovandus, Ruyfch, 
Willughby, and Bloch, the defigns are right; in Jonlton 
they are wrong. 
The fcales, from the elegance of their ftrudture, have 
long fince formed objedls for the microfcope. An erro¬ 
neous idea fometimes prevails that the fpiny end of the 
fcale is that by which it is inferted into the fkin : that, 
however, is not the cafe. Fig. 3. on the annexed engra¬ 
ving, reprefents a fcale as it appears in the microfcope; 
the pointed part is that without the fkin, as may be feen 
in fig. 4. which reprefents a piece of the ficin with the 
fcales, as viewed by the opaque microfcope. 
( 3 . Monf. Noel, of Rouen, difcovered a variety of the 
foie, which inhabits the mouth of Orne, in Normandy. 
It is called cardine. The head is much larger and longer; 
the right fide is of a red fawn-colour. It is not in fuch 
efteem as the genuine foie. 
16. Pieuronedles arnogloffus, the fmooth foie: thin, 
pellucid, white, and fmooth. Found, but rarely, on the 
coafts of Cornwall. 
37. Pleuronedles linguatula, the tongue-fnaped or 
Venetian foie : vent on the left fide ; teeth fharp. The 
dorfal fin has 68 rays, the peflorals 10, ventrals 6, anal 55, 
caudal 19. This inhabits the European feas. The tail- 
fin is rounded; the dorfal fin reaches almoft to the ex¬ 
tremity of the muzzle. 
18. Pleuronefles glacialis, the glacial foie : very 
fmooth; above brown, beneath white; middle rays of 
the dorfal and anal fins rough with fmall fpines. There 
are 56 rays in the dorfal fin, and 39 in the anal; the tail- 
fin rounded. It inhabits fandy places in the Frozen fea; 
grow's to the length of nine inches. The bony part of 
the head behind the eyes is prominent and rough ; the 
reft of the body, tail, &c. entirely fmooth. Firft de- 
fcribed by Pallas. 
19. Pleuronedles platefloides, the fpotted foie : brown 
fpots on the right or upper furface. There are 89 rays in 
the dorfal fin, 12 in the pectorals, 6 in the ventrals, 71 
in the anal, 18 in the caudal. This is one of the fnalleft 
of the genus, and the leaft efteemed as food. The head 
is fmooth; eyes black, iris filvery: lower jaw longer, 
terminated by a turbercle ; tongue long, flender, fmooth, 
rounded at the end; vent at the edge of the belly; 
lateral line ftraight; peftoral fins fliort, and, like the veil- 
trals 3 . 
