689 
P L EURO 
long, and 7 broad, not including the fins. According to 
Ray, the fielh is lean and hard; therefore little efteemed 
in Cornwall, where they have fo many that are better 
food; at Copenhagen they are well tailed, and eafy of 
digeftion. They commonly lie at the bottom of the fea in 
fandy places, and live on crabs, fnails, &c. 
29. Pleuronedfes rhornbus, the pearl: body broad and 
fmooth. There are 6 rays in the membrane of the gills, 
12 in the pedtoral fins, 6 in the ventral, 57 in the anal, 16 
in the tail, and 71 in the dorfal. The head is final], but 
broad ; the aperture of the mouth arched; the underjaw 
fomewhat protruded; both jaws are armed with fmall fiiarp 
teeth, of which the front ones are the largeft. This filh 
can protrude and withdraw both jaws at will. The nof- 
trils are near the eyes ; the eyes have a black pupil and 
white iris. The gill-covers form fan obtufe angle towards 
the back. The Icales are oblong ; but, as they are quite 
foft, the filh feels even and fmooth. The head is brown 
above, as well as the body, which is marbled brown and 
yellow ; the under fide is white. The lateral line forms a 
bend near the head, and then pafles ftraight through the 
middle of the body. The fins are marbled ; and have 
brown, white, and yellow, fpots. The dorfal fin origin¬ 
ates juft at the upper jaw, and ends at the tail-fin, which 
is long and fomewhat rounded. 
This fpecies inhabits all parts of the North Sea, the 
Mediterranean, and the coafts of Sardinia, in the bottom 
of the fea; alfo in the Seine at Quevilly, near Rouen in 
Normandy ; and remains of them have been found at 
Oeningen near the Rhine, and the lake of Conftance. 
They grow to a conliderable fize : in the reign of the em¬ 
peror Domitian it is fajd, (but not credited at prefent,) 
that one was taken which was twenty ells long and a foot 
thick. It is a voracious filh, and is caught and prepared 
in the fame manner as the plaife. It is called lug-aleof in 
Cornwall, but generally known by the name of pearl in 
London. 
30. Pleuronedfes dentatus, the toothed plaife: body, 
oblong, fmooth ; teeth iharp, extending out of the mouth. 
There are 7 rays in the membrane of the gills, 86 in the 
dorfal fin, 12 in the pedtorals, 6 in the ventrals, 50 in the 
anal, 17 in the caudal, which is rounded and fcaly. In¬ 
habits Carolina; obferved by Dr. Garden. 
31. Pleuronedfes maximus, the turbot: body rough 
with obtufe bony tubercles. There are 7 rays in the 
membrane of the gills, 10 in the pedforal fins, 6 in the 
ventral, 46 in the anal, 16 in the tail, and 67 in the dor- 
fa). The body is long and lozenge-lhaped, whence the 
name rhombus, given it by many writers ancient and mo¬ 
dern. It is marbled brown andyeiiow on the upper fide, 
on the under white with brown fpots. The tubercles are 
much larger on the tipper fide than on the under, and 
both are covered with thin fcales, though Wiliughby, 
Ray, and Pennant, deny that the turbot has any; they 
ni 3 y have efcaped the obfervation of thofe naturalifts, be- 
caufe they are thin, and lie deep in the fkin. The head 
is broad, and rough to the touch, as is the body alfo, on 
account of the little knobs mentioned before; thefe tu¬ 
bercles are lefs numerous in the female. The eyes are 
large, having a fea-green pupil furrounded with a brown 
iris. The aperture of the gills is wide. The upper jaw 
protrudes, and both are furnifhed with feveral rows of 
fmall teeth. The fins are yellowifh, with black fpots and 
dots. The lateral line forms a bend at the breaft ; then 
divides the body into two equal parts, and is fmooth. 
This fifti is found in the North Sea, the Baltic, and in 
the Mediterranean; and grows to a conliderable fize: 
Rondeletius profefles to have feen fome five ells long, four 
broad, and a foot thick. In England they are taken from 
twenty to thirty pounds weight, and are reckoned a great 
delicacy. As the foie has acquired the name of fea-par- 
tridge, fo the turbot is called in France, faifan de mer, 
fea-pheafant. As to the method of taking them, fee the 
article Fishery, vol. vii. p.416. 
32. Pleuronedfes pafler, the fea fparrow, or whiff: late¬ 
ral line much curved at its origin, and prickly. There 
Vol. XX. No. 1401. 
N E C T E S. 
are 6 rays in the membrane of the gills, 12 in the pedtoral 
fins, 6 in the ventral, 44 in the anal, 16 in the tail, and 
59 in the dorfal. Befides the head and the lateral line, 
the bafe of the rays of the dorfal and anal fins are alfo 
armed with prickles; the reft of the body is fmooth on 
the upper furface. On the under fide there are no pric¬ 
kles, except at the origin of the fins, and a few at the head. 
The upper furface is marbled grey and yellow; the under 
part is white. The body is lengthened, as well as the 
head; the under jaw protrudes; both are furnilhed with 
fmall teeth. The eyes are fmall, and near each other ; the 
pupil is a yellowifh-green, the iris brown. Both fides are 
covered with fmall thin fcales. The lateral line is ftraight 
after a deep curvature at the beginning. The fins are 
yellowifh, with brown fpots ; in other refpedts they are 
like thofe of the plaife ; there is a fpine at the vent. This 
fpecies abounds in the North Sea and the Baltic; it is 
caught and prepared like the reft of the genus § it is well- 
tafted, but fomewhat harder than the flounder. The fpawn- 
ing time and the interior conformation refemble the other 
fpecies of this genus. It grows about the fize of the 
plaife, though fome are faid to weigli fix or eight pounds; 
in fome countries it is confounded with the flounder, as 
it was conftantly by the ancients. Artedius is the firft 
who made it a diftindt fpecies; even Pennant regards this 
and the flounder as one fpecies. 
33. Pleuronedfes papillofus, the hairy plaife : lateral 
line curved; body papillous. In the dorfal fin 58 rays, 
in the pedforals 12, ventrals 6, anal 42, tail 16. Inha¬ 
bits America; left fide cinereous, right fide white. Pro¬ 
bably a variety of the preceding. 
34. Pleuronedfes mancus, the large-fcaled foie, orcomb- 
fifn : fcales very large; head tuberculate. There are 14 
rays in the pedtoral fins, 6 in the ventral, 45 in the anal, 
17 in the tail, and 69 in the dorfal. The head is broad ; 
the aperture of the mouth wide, the under jaw longer 
than the upper, both armed with fiiarp wedge-lhaped 
teeth 5 the teeth of this fpecies are longer than of any 
other kind of foie; the tongue is fmooth, loofe, and 
pointed. The eyes are near together ; pupil black, fur- 
rounded by a white iris and a brown circle ; the noftrils 
are double, and lie before the eyes. The aperture of the 
gills is wide; the covers confift of two little plates. The 
ground-colour of the filh is brown on the upper furface, 
white underneath; on the upper fide every fcale has a 
fpot of the fame colour, and thefe fpots are darker as 
they approach the back of the filh. The lateral line, 
which begins near the top of the neck, makes a fmall 
curve downwards, and is loft in the midft of the tail-fin, 
which is round. The rays of the dorfal and anal fins are 
fimple; all the reft branched; and all the fins are of a 
brown colour. This fifti is found in the fea of Bralil, 
where it lies in the fand ; it feeds on crabs, fmall filh, &c. 
Prince Maurice fays it grows to the length of about two 
feet, and that it is well-tafted. Marcgrave, Pifo, Ruyfch, 
and Gefner, have reprefented this fpecies with the eyes on 
the right fide, having incorredtly copied Prince Maurice’s 
drawing, where they are placed on the left fide, as in re¬ 
ality they ftionld be. This inaccuracy we have had fre¬ 
quent occaiion to remark upon in our defcription of this 
fingular genus of fifties. 
35. Pleuronedfes argus, the argus flounder: blue cref- 
cent-fiiaped marks on the upper furface of the body : tail 
rounded ; jaws equal. There are 10 rays in each pedtoral 
fin, 8 in each ventral, 69 in the anal, 17 in the tail, and 
79 in the dorfal. 
This beautiful filh has the upper furface of the body 
adorned with fpots of a clear yellow colour intermingled 
with brown dots, and furrounded with thofe blue marks 
which form the fpecific charadter of the filh ; thefe marks 
fometimes form a complete circle, fometimes two or three 
fegments. Between thefe fegments, are ftrewed every 
wliere little blue fpots and dark brown dots. The head 
is broad; the eyes are far apart; they have a blue 
pupil, furrounded with a brown and white iris. The 
eye which is turned towards the back is larger than 
S N the 
