Volume 37, Plate VII / Ichthyology (Fish)

Maigre & Bearded Umbrina

Sciæna aquila & Umbrina vulgaris

1. The Maigre. The largest and most remarkable genus of European seas, familiar on Italian coasts, this powerful fish reaches three to six feet, is brownish grey above, silvery grey on the sides, and white beneath, shining in the Mediterranean with rainbow brilliance. A rare visitor to Britain, noted in Shetland in 1819 and off Devonshire and Northumberland, it utters a purring noise when caught, and its flesh is good, particularly stewed, being rather dry when boiled.
2. The Bearded Umbrina. A valuable but very rare visitor to British coasts, so much so that its claim to the Fauna is doubted, this fish in its native seas seldom exceeds sixty pounds, though one taken in the Exe was reported at a hundredweight. Common off Italy, France, and Spain, where it reaches thirty-two to forty pounds and usually about two feet, it is remarkably beautiful, golden with bright bands of steel-blue, and its flesh is white and excellent.