Note on the Common Sole

Abstract

IN looking over Mr. Buckland's last work on “British Fishes,” I did not find any account of the power the Sole has of fixing itself against the glass of an aquarium by means of a sucker placed close to the mouth, on the lower side; and as I find it is one of the “things not generally known,” I think it maybe worth your notice, particularly as I have not remarked it at the Brighton Aquarium. I first observed the fact at the Havre Aquarium, where I pointed it out to many persons hitherto unacquainted with it, but I have been disappointed at not seeing it at Brighton during any of my visits. The only way I can account for this difference in the habits of the same fish is that the Brighton Soles being, during my visits, always in the light, lay quietly at the bottom, whereas those at Havre, being almost excluded from the light, were seen to much greater advantage, swimming about freely and attaching themselves to the glass when they came in contact with it, or sliding down to the ground. The sucker of a Sole nine inches long would be about 3/4 inch by 1/2 inch, placed diagonally to the long diameter of the fish, and exhibiting fine radiating lines. Though I watched other flat-fish carefully, I never could detect any attempt in them to fix themselves against the glass when they struck it, and therefore I am quite unable to explain why the Sole alone should have this power. As I make no pretension to be an ichthyologist, it is very probable that I may be telling a thrice-told tale. I must therefore leave it to your judgment to decide whether it is worth your notice in NATURE.