DOPA, or John Dory(Zeus fabef), an Acauthopterygian fish belonging to the family Scombridae, held in such esteem by the ancient Greeks that they called it Zeus after their principal divinity. Its English name is probably a corruption of the French jaune dorée, and has reference to the prevailing golden-yellow colour of the living fish. The body in the dory is much compressed, and is nearly oval in form, while the mouth is large and capable of extensive protrusion. It possesses two dorsal fins, of which the anterior is armed with long slender spines, and the connecting membrane is produced into long tendril-like filaments: while a row of short spines extends along the belly and the roots of the anal and dorsal fins. The colour of the upper surface is olive brown; the sides are yellowish, and are marked with a prominent dark spot, on account of which the dory divides with the haddock the reputation of being the fish from which Peter took the tribute money. It is an inhabitant of the Atlantic coasts of Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Australian seas. It is occasionally abundant on the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, and is also found, though more sparingly, throughout the British seas. It is exceedingly voracious, feeding on mollusks, shrimps, and the young of other fish; and Couch states that from the stomach of a single dory he has taken 25 flounders, some 2J inches long, 3 fatherlashers half grown, and 5 stones from the beach, one an inch and a half in length. They are often taken in the fishermen’s nets off the Cornwall and Devon coast, having entered these in pursuit of pilchards. They are seldom found in deep water, preferring sandy bays, among the weeds growing on the bottom of which they lie in wait for their prey, and in securing this they are greatly assisted ...