Page:Natural History, Fishes.djvu/196

182 Mr. Yarrell’s beautiful work on British Ichthyology contains other instances, recorded on the authority of Mr. Couch, of the blind, indiscriminate appetite of this species. From these and other facts, it would appear that the Fishing Frog is in no wise delicate in his taste, and that he may be characterized as a glutton rather than an epicure. The amount of mischief done by such a gourmand on a fishing-ground must be enormous; especially as it is by no means uncommon to capture a dozen at once, and from their habits probably few are taken compared with the numbers that are present.

On the Scottish coast, this species is called Wide-gab, and Sea-devil. It is sometimes met with four, and even five feet in length. The body is not marked with the diverse hues common in the Family, the upper surface of the head, body, and fins being of a dark brown, nearly uniform in tint; the under surface of the same parts pure white. The eyes are brown, devoid of the metallic brilliancy so general in fishes.