‘ aon parm wet goal, Nga O ima FOE GOTO oad ‘GNOOH J tal OF THE mt Ss HH ES | - BRITISH ISLANDS. / Be JONATMAN “COUCH, -F:L.S: Vor. oh CONTAINING FIFTY-SEVEN COLOURED PLATES, FROM DRAWINGS BY THE AUTHOR. The works of the Lorn are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.—PsaALm exi, y. 2, LONDON: GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS, 5, PATERNOSTER ROW. M DCCC LXVIII. Nurse Hound Rough Hound . Black-mouthed Dogfish . Six-gilled Shark White Shark Blue Shark Thrasher Porbeagle . Toper Smooth Hound Picked Dog Spinous Shark . Greenland Shark Basking Shark . : Rashleigh Shark Broad-headed Gazer . Hammer-head Monkfish . Skate Long-nosed Skate Flapper Skate Burton Skate Thornback Ray ' Starry Ray Spotted Ray . Painted Ray Bordered Ray Cuckoo Ray Sandy Ray Shagreen Ray . ‘Torpedo CONTENTS. PAGE 11 14 18 21 265 28 37 41 45 47 49 54 57 60 67 68 70 73 87 98 95 97 99 103 104 107 110 112 115 117 119 iv CONTENTS. Sting Ray Eagle Ray Ox Ray Arctic Chimera Common Sturgeon Huso : : : Three-spined Stickleback Tinker : : Fifteen-spined Stickleback Perch Bass Ruff Comber Dusky Perch Stone Bass Dentex Mendole Surmullet Red Mullet Old Wife . Bogue Becker Couch’s Sea Bream Erythrinus Spanish Bream Common Sea Bream . Short Sea Bream Gilthead PAGE 130 135 139 145 157 163 167 176 180 185 189 193 195 198 200 208 206 209 217 222 225 228 231 233 235 237 241 243 —_— Se PREFACE. In the work on British Fishes now presented to the public, it has been the endeavour of the Author to give such a representation of each of the species which has at any time been met with im the British Islands, either as straggling visitors or more permanent. residents, as shall render it easy to be recognised by any one; as also to assign it its proper place in a scientific arrangement; and of these recorded in our volumes it is to be observed that there are several which are now for the first time noticed as having been obtained in Britain. A coloured likeness is for the most part necessary for this purpose; and those which are now presented to the notice of the reader, with very few exceptions, that are particularly pointed out, possess the advantage of having been derived from’ examples that had been but newly drawn from their native element, with their native colours fresh upon them; while those species which from their rarity could not be procured under such circumstances, are produced in such a manner as not to be disguised by imaginary adorning. The descriptions also have been carefully attended to, and with the plates will leave little to be desired in illustration of this portion of the subject. v1 PREFACE. But beyond this it has been deemed of special importance to give, with as much precision as possible, an account of the characteristic habits of each species; a large portion of the particulars of which is derived from attentive observation under favourable circumstances through a considerable extent of time; coupled also with frequent communications from practical fishermen of great intelligence; who have always been ready to acknowledge small obligations by a free com- munication of facts in their experience. And in addition to these matters an object has been kept in view, which the Author has deemed of high importance, although it has not usually found a place in works on Natural History; and it is to him a matter of regret that it has not been worked out to such extent as the subject demands. He has laboured, however, by repeated examination of the organs and internal structure of the several species and orders or classes of fishes to trace the connection of their several parts with their instincts and modes of life; and in all these researches, of which particulars are scattered through the work, he has been able to discern such a connection and reciprocal dependance as to establish the conviction of a presiding mind that has formed and set in action the whole; so that the inhabitants of the water are not less furnished than those of the land with the means of existence, and with faculties which enable them to turn what may appear to be unfavourable circumstances to good account. Linnzeus inquires Quis, nisi vidissit, pisces habitare sub undascrede-ret ? : : e And his proper answer is— Quam sapienter ea fecisti! O, Jehovah! PREFACE. vil It is with much pleasure the Author acknowledges his obligations to gentlemen in different and remote parts of the United Kingdom, and even beyond them, for the assistance they have rendered him in the course of the work now introduced to the British public; and to several of these his thanks are the more especially due as their communications, whether of examples or information, have been altogether unsolicited. From the remotest parts of the Shetland Islands, and from Scilly, with the north and middle portions of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, contributions have been received; a large proportion of which at least can only be ascribed to a love of science, but of which the particulars are not now given, as it was thought more satisfactory to refer to each in those parts of our work where the particular subject has been under consideration. Of his readers then, for the present, the Author takes his leave in the words of the ancient Roman dramatists—“Vos valete;” and if their approbation has been obtained—“et plaudite!”’ FISHES OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS, Our ancestors were accustomed to call by the name of fish all the creatures which inhabit the waters; and in so doing they comprised under this term all the races of crabs and lobsters, and also many species of shell-fish, as oysters and cockles. It was even a disputed point among them whether the otter should not come under this denomination; to which this animal must be admitted to have as good a right as the bat to be classed among birds; among which, simply on account of its powers of flying, it continued to hold a place to even a modern date. But a better knowledge of nature has corrected these mistakes, and we limit our subject to creatures pointed out by the following characters. Not only, therefore, do we say with Dr. Monro, in his work on the structure and physiology of fishes, that by this name we understand that class of animals which lives in water, swims by the assistance of fins, and has the water directly applied to the gills, through which organ the whole mass of blood in the body passes in the course of circulation: which definition is so far deficient, that it would not exclude the young condition of the several kinds of frogs and newts :—but we add also, that they are furnished with nostrils, usually double on each side, which do not communicate with the mouth or that passage by which they receive the water which passes through the gills. Ina fish also the whole mass of blood passes through the gills for the purpose of receiving the influence of air con- tained in the water, without being again returned to the heart until it has been carried to the other parts of the body. This last observation is probably referred to by Monro, but is not fully expressed by him, and in these particulars all fishes agree; but there are other characters among them which are sufficiently distinct in different families as to render it necessary for us to divide them into classes; of which, for reasons presently to be assigned, we shall place the Sharks and Rays at the head: in doing which we are not singular. The illustrious naturalists, Owen and Agassiz, have done the same; and Linnzus, whose VOL, I. B 9 SHARKS AND RAY-FISHES. ~ system of nature, although professedly artificial, was intimately connected with a profound knowledge of the affinities of natural objects, has even gone so far as to separate them essentially from the great family of true fishes, by making them a branch of his class of amphibious animals, under the title of swimming amphi- bians: the serpents and other reptiles being formed into another class of the same general order. CHONDROPTERYGIOUS FISHES. Havine a skeleton with few bony particles in its structure, and also termed Plagiostomi from the situation of the mouth, and it may be added, the nostrils, which are beneath a projecting snout. SHARKS AND RAY-FISHES. As regards their proper station in the natural classification of animals we so far agree with the distinguished Swedish naturalist Linneus, as to place the family which comprises the Sharks and Rays in the rank which is next below that of reptiles; to which order they are most nearly related in their general structure, vital physiology, and mental instincts; and not in the much inferior station which includes the Lampreys, as is done in the great part of modern arrangements. — . With the Lampreys, myxine and lancelet, this class of fishes possesses nothing in common, except a soft skeleton that for the most part is without bony fibres, and several openings through which the water passes in the action of breathing; which are agreements too slight and obscure to warrant the conclusion that these families possess any near connection of natural affinity; whereas the differences in other respects, and even in the par- ticulars named, are very wide, as we shall presently see. And therefore, while we suffer the last-named family—of Petromy- zonide, or Lampreys, to remain at the end of our list, as at the vanishing point of fishes in their transition towards the class of worms, we assert for this tribe of chondropterygious fishes a prominent station at the head of the whole family of fishes. It is because of the softness of the skeleton in the class of chondropterygious fishes that the minds of naturalists have been Qo SHARKS AND RAY-FISHES. o impressed with the idea that the structure of the whole of them is greatly inferior as compared with the more firm and intricate structure of those which are termed bony fishes. We adopt the energetic language of Mr. Owen on this subject, and remark: “We should lose some most valuable fruits of anatomical study were we to limit the application of its facts to the elucidation of the unity of the vertebrate type of organization, or if we were to rest satisfied with the detection of the analogies between the embryos of higher and the adults of lower species in the scale of being. We must go further and in a different direction to gain a view of the beautiful physiological principle of the relation of each adaptation to its appropriate function, and if we would avoid the danger of attributing to inadequate hypothetical secon- dary causes the manifestations of design, of supreme wisdom and beneficence, which the various forms of the animal creation offer to our contemplation. ‘To revert then to the skeleton of fishes with a view to the teleological application of the facts— or that which regards them as means directed to an end— determined by the study of this complex modification of the animal framework. No doubt there is analogy between the cartilaginous state of the endo-skeleton of Cuvier’s chondrop- terygians, and that of the same part in the embryos of the air- breathing vertebrates; but why the gristly skeleton should be, as it commonly has been pronounced to be, absolutely inferior to the bony one is not.so obvious. I know not why a flexible vascular animal substance should be supposed to be raised in the histological scale because it has become impregnated by the abundant intussusception of earthy salts.” “The predaceous Sharks are the most active and vigorous of fishes; like the birds of prey they soar, as it were, in the upper regions of their atmosphere, and without any aid from a modified respiratory apparatus, devoid of an air-bladder, they habitually maintain themselves near the surface of the sea by the actions of their large and muscular fins. The gristly skeleton is in prospective harmony with this mode and sphere of life, and we find well-marked modifications of the digestive and other systems of the Shark by which the body is rendered as light, and the space which encroaches on the muscular system as small, as might be compatible with those actions. Besides, lightness, toughness, and elasticity are the qualities of the 4 SHARKS AND RAY-FISHES. skeleton most essential to the Shark: to yield to the contraction of the lateral inflectors and aid in the recoil are the functions which the spine is mainly required to fulfil in the act of locomotion, and to which its alternating elastic balls of fluid, and semi-ossified biconcave vertebre so admirably adapt it. ‘To have had their entire skeleton consolidated and loaded with earthy matter, would have been an incumbrance altogether at variance with the offices which the Sharks are appointed to fulfil in the economy of the great deep. Yet there are some who would shut out, by easily comprehended but quite gratuitous systems of progressive transmutation and self-creative forces, the soul-expanding appreciations of the final purposes of the fecund varieties of the animal structures by which we are drawn nearer to the Great First Cause. They see nothing more in this modification of the skeleton, which is so beautifully adapted to the exigencies of the highest organized of fishes, than a foreshadowing of the cartilaginous condition of the reptilian embryo in an enormous tadpole, arrested at an incomplete stage of typical development. But they have been deceived by the common name given to the plagiostomous fishes: the animal basis of the Shark’s skeleton is not cartilage; it is not that consolidated jelly which forms the basis of the bones of higher vertebrates: it has more resemblance to mucus; it requires a thousand times its weight of boiling water for its solution, and is neither precipitated by infusion of galls, nor yields any gelatine upon evaporation.” (Lecture 6, Hunterian Lectures, vol. 11.) The bony frame of the Lampreys, on the other hand, is little other than well-coagulated jelly, with no more than about one and a half of earthy salts in its composition. Nor is it by the general likeness of shape, or internal structure and physiology alone, that animals should have their relative situation assigned to them in the order of nature. Separately from these there are analogies also; and although these analogies are chiefly judged of by the living actions of the races or indi- vidual species—which actions, in the view of systematic writers, whose business is principally with the dead animal, are of all foundations of classification the least definite and trustworthy— yet in their general bearing they serve important purposes in one principal aim in the study of nature. In a work intended to aid in the instruction of the public mind they should not be SHARKS AND RAY-FISHES. 5 lost sight of; and indeed they are in many respects scarcely less insisted on by naturalists of our own day, although un- consciously, than they were by writers of an older date; who were disposed to make them exclusively the foundation of their arrangements. There is no reason why the lion should occupy the elevated -place he does in popular estimation as the king of beasts, except with reference to his power over the weaker inhabitants of the wilderness. It is his united strength and courage which establish his rank in the estimation of writers whose labours have been directed to the history of the habits of the animal creation. We grant indeed, that in the opinion of the moralist and philosopher, the possession of mere strength and commanding—perhaps fero- clous, powers and dispositions, should not be estimated as the sufficient mark to which the supreme rank ought to be assigned. But the human mind has shewn a disposition to regard these qualities as such a mark; and as a beginning even in this kind of superiority must be somewhere, and the consent of ages has ascribed it among beasts to the lion, and with the same conviction or feeling, among birds to the eagle; we are only proceeding in the same direction when we view the Sharks as holding the same relative rank among the families of the ocean. ‘They live by the exertion of similar powers with those of their analogies of the land and air, and even in general with more insatiable appetites and energies. But there are other circumstances involved in the structure of this class of fishes which are worthy of our notice, as tending to shew the station they hold among their fellow natives of the deep. The skin of Sharks bears a nearer resemblance in toughness and strength to the covering of the higher order of animals, than to the other classes of fishes, and even than does that of their kindred chondropterygians or plagiostomes—the Rays; the latter of which orders has this covering for the most part soft and moist, although in several of the genera it is studded with tubercles; but instead of scales the skin is closely covered and defended with spines, which in substance bear a not very distant likeness to horn, and are even more firm and compact. Beneath the skin is a layer of fibres which have the strength and ap- pearance of tendons, which cross each other in opposite directions 6 SHARKS AND RAY-FISHES. at acute angles. The muscles themselves have a resemblance to those of quadrupeds, and the bundles of fibres which constitute their substance appear to possess the powers of separate action, by which the motions of the fish may be more minutely and effectually regulated. Such muscles as lie behind the ventral fins are accompanied with what may be denominated tendons, which are a portion of animal structure that does not exist in the common class of bony fishes; and by the use of these, which are longer and stouter the nearer they approach the tail, that important organ is enabled to put forth its very powerful action without being itself inconveniently stout. Although the lateral muscles of a fish’s body may be said to be innumerable, there is some propriety in considering those of the body of a Shark as forming four of large size, over and above those which are smaller and subordinate; for the tendino-cellular membrane interposed between the skin and muscle passes between those larger masses of muscle, and may be said either to divide or unite them, and at the same time serving to give firmness to their action by the general support it affords them. ‘This description is more es- pecially taken from the Ray-mouthed Dogfish and Toper (Mustelus levis and G'aleus vulgaris ;) but with some variation it is, doubtless, observable in all Sharks. But it is more distinctly marked in the former species than in the latter, thus. directing our views to its importance; and accordingly it has been observed by fishermen that the former fish, when it has taken the hook, is much stronger in the water than the latter. It is on account of the particular structure of the muscular layers in Sharks that they are able to direct their motions with greater precision than the generality of fishes, and also that they can continue their efforts without weariness for an almost unlimited duration of time; and accordingly sailors inform us of the vast extent of ocean along which they have been accompanied by some of those fishes, without apparent weariness, when their appetites or expectations have been excited after prey. We shall defer the description of the eye of the Rays until we come to speak particularly of that tribe of fishes; but this organ is but little less curious in the Sharks, although its structure is founded on very simple principles as compared with that of other animals. In most kinds of fishes the eyes are round and prominent, without the possibility of being closed, even in sleep SHARKS AND RAY-FISHES. 1 or at the approach of danger; but in the generality of Sharks, if not in all, the exposed surface becomes oval by means of a structure of the skin above and below the globe, which, when the fish finds itself hooked on the line, or otherwise in danger, is made to close over it, somewhat after the manner of the eyelids in birds. The globe itself is supplied with muscles to direct its actions, and its sphere of motion is still more extended by means of a contrivance, in which we see a remarkable instance of the skill by which what might appear to be a new organ, is produced by the simple lengthening out of a well-known part into a new form and for a new but important use. On examining the cavity in which the eye of the Shark revolves, we find that the globe, which is the immediate seat of the power of vision, is lifted from the bottom, on which, in other animals besides those of this great family, it rolls, and is placed on a small table that itself forms the top of a slender pillar, the bottom of which is fixed on the bony circle of the common ocular cavity; or more properly speaking the pillar itself, which leans a little forward that it may be accommodated to the most usual direction in which objects are viewed, is an extension or modification of the orbitary process of what anatomists term the sphenoid bone. The height of this ocular pillar has the additional advantage of allowing a greater length to the muscles which move the eye, and by so doing, of providing for a more sudden, as well as a more extensive action of the eyes in prowling for their prey. ‘The remarkable nature and arrangement of the teeth in Sharks and Rays has long attracted the attention of naturalists, and great have been the mistakes which have been committed in describing them and the process by which they are produced, | and also the succession of them continued. In other orders of fish they take their rise from a membrane which clothes the jaws:—for we exclude the consideration of those which are found in the gullet, tongue, and palate—and they rise immediately from this foundation in an upright direction. Here they remain at- tached for a time, and then they fall away, at uncertain intervals, to be succeeded by others. With the Sharks and Rays it is widely different; and the particulars of the process by which they are produced have been first and most extensively described by Mr. Owen; but they had to some extent been observed by myself, before I had obtained an opportunity of learning them from that gentleman’s more extensive discoveries. 8 SHARKS AND RAY-FISHES. In all fishes the first step in the formation of teeth is the simple production of a soft vascular papilla, or pimple from the free surface of the membrane of the jaw near the mouth; but in the Sharks and Rays these papille do not proceed to sink into the substance of the gum, but become covered by caps of an opposite free fold of this membrane. ‘These caps do not contract any organic connection with the papilliform matrix (and in the torpedo they are very loose,) but as this is converted into dental tissue the tooth is gradually withdrawn (the points of the teeth at first lying flat downward, or in the direction toward the mouth,) from the extraneous protecting cap, and as they become hard from being covered with an enamelled surface, they assume the upright posture on the border of the jaw. It has been assumed that the number of rows of these teeth are marks of the age of the Shark, and that an additional row is added for each year of its growth. But this is no further correct than as the greater breadth of the jaw from the greater size of the fish produced by longer life, affords a wider space for the teeth to stand upright. A Shark of nearly full growth, if young, may have no greater number of rows of teeth standing erect than a couple, but there are several others at the same time in the act of production; and they are carried forward on the surface by an action in the membrane itself on which they rest, until, being commonly broken or worn down by the violence to which they have been exposed, by the time they have reached the outer edge of the jaw, an exfoliation of the membrane itself has taken place, and they drop off by a natural process of exfoliation, to be succeeded by others, which are in their turn formed at the border of the jaw nearest the mouth, and pass upward and outward: the whole proceeding bearing no distant likeness to that by which the nails are formed in our fingers, or hoofs in the feet of beasts, to be passed onward to the part when their use is required, and by which they are at last set free from their attachment, and lost. ‘The production and protrusion of the teeth in the family of Rays is substantially the same as in Sharks; but the more slender bony process that in most species projects from the base, is sooner broken down by the crushing process of feeding on crustaceous or hard food; and the jaw is therefore, in most cases, rendered almost smooth before the teeth have advanced so far as to be rejected. There is only one other subject connected with the general en SHARKS AND RAY-FISHES. 9 history of this order of fishes, to which we will address our attention, and this is the manner in which they produce their young. The males are distinguished from the females in away very unlike any that is seen in other families of fishes, and this is by being in possession of jointed organs that are attached to the body, close to the ventral fins; and which are usually known by the name of claspers, but of which the precise use is little understood, although we may suppose that they have some connection with the offices of love. Neither the Sharks nor Rays possess what can be termed a milt or roe, as in bony fishes; but they have something equivalent to those organs, which is found studded with eggs in various stages of growth; and as these escape from their primitive station they descend to their proper receptacle, which is divided into two chambers, where they wait for their final development. The larger number of Sharks are found to hatch their young within themselves, but without any adhesion to the organ in which they lie; and the only exception to this ‘internal hatching, at least as it is appli- cable to the British genera, is found in the genus Seyllium, or ground Sharks, of which we will speak particularly when we describe the habits of that race. The Rays, without any ex- ception that is known, resemble the ground Sharks, in excluding the egg before the final perfection of their young. Of the first named, or viviparous Sharks, the eggs descend from the ovary either at once, as in several species, or in long succession, as is the case with the Picked Dogfish; and in the double receptacle into which they are now received they obtain a rather rapid development, in the progress of which they offer an interesting spectacle to a close observer, as being even “more remarkable than that which takes place in the egg of a bird. The slight membranous covering which at first enveloped in one mass the embryo fish, and the proper egg which is to supply it with sustenance during the period of its interuterine growth, has been burst asunder by extension, and the young fish lies in its receptacle awaiting the changes that shall prepare it for being launched into the waters of the ocean. But during this stage of inaction a temporary substitute is required for the purification of the blood, in place of the more perfect gills which will have to perform this function in their future con- WOLF. C 10 SHARKS. dition. A number of vascular fibres are provided, which hang from the orifices of the breathing holes, and even from the temporal orifices where these are provided; and they do not disappear until the creature is prepared for its permanent state of existence. It is a remarkable instance of the accuracy with which the transitory condition of interuterine existence is pro- vided for, that the whole of the contents of the nutrient bag forming the egg has become absorbed into the body at the very instant when its presence is no longer required, and the fish has become capable of seeking for its own support. It may be mentioned as a piece of superstition, that in no very distant times the teeth of Sharks, under the name of ser- pent’s teeth, were set in silver, and used to render more easy the cutting of the teeth in children. It was more in reference to their supposed ocult virtue, than to their mechanic effect, that even so wise a man as the physician and naturalist Rondele- tius believed that when reduced to powder they formed also an excellent tooth powder. SHARKS. THEsE are fishes of a lengthened form, having the mouth and nostrils placed under a projecting snout, the jaws furnished with several rows of teeth, the gill-covers bound down to the side, and the openings like separate slits in the skin, not less than five in number. ‘The fins covered with the common skin, the tail irregularly lobed, the upper portion being of greater length than the lower, and having the vertebre, or joints of the back, carried onward close to the border of the caudal fin. There are some kindred species, which vary in some degree from the shape most common in this family, by approaching more nearly to that of the Rays; on which account they are said to be aberrant. Of these we shall take notice when describing such of them as have been taken on the British coasts. The following arrangement of such of the genera of this family as belong to the catalogue of British fishes, is derived from the “Animal Kingdom” of the Baron Cuvier, but modified in a few particulars, by the observations of the German naturalists Muller and Henlé, and by Dr. Gray. a SCYLLIUM. Generic Characters.—The snout depressed, short, and blunt; nostrils with a channel extending to the edge of the lip; a temporal orifice behind the eye; an anal fin; the two dorsals not before the ventral fins. The generic name is from Ta LxAra, the common name em- ployed by Aristotle for these fishes,—perhaps. because the prickly covering of their skin rendered them troublesome to handle. NURSE HOUND. BOUNCE AND CATFISH. Squalus canicula, Linn vs. Catulus major, WILLOUGHBY AND Ray; p. 62, but the figure, B4, does not convey a proper idea of the fish. Scyllium catulus, Fuemine; British Animals, p. 165. 6 stellaris, Jenyns; Manual, p. 496. (Not of Risso, Icth., p- 31.) a: a YaRRELL; British Fishes, 2nd. ed., vol. ii., p. 493, but the figure is very imperfect as a representation. Le Squale Roussette, Lacerrpg; Ed. l’an 6 de la Republique, 12mo., vol. 11., p. 8; but he confounds together this and the Common Rough Hound. The Squalus canicula, No. 112, La Roussette tigrée, the Bounce of Bloch, has ocellated spots, and certainly is not the Nurse Hound, probably the Squalus stellavis of Authors. Tuts species and the Rough Hound, next to be mentioned, are classed as ground Sharks, because their usual. station is near the bottom, where they seek their prey, mostly in rough and rocky ground. Such of them as wander on more open ground are of a lighter colour, in conformity with a law of nature in fishes, by which they assume an intensity of tint corresponding with the ground which they frequent. Their food for the most part consists of crustaceous animals, as 12 NURSE HOUND. crabs and lobsters; but, like most others of this tribe, they are ready to seize any tempting prey that comes near them. They are therefore often taken with a line; but the capture is of little value to the fisherman, as their flesh is too rank for even the coarsest stomachs. ‘The liver affords some oil; and the skin might be used for polishing wood, but that it is too rough to be employed on the finer sorts: I believe a species of this family from the Mediterranean is preferred for this purpose. This fish is not commonly found near the shore; and for this cause chiefly it is most frequently met with through the summer and autumn, when fishing boats are able to venture into the deeper water of the channel, where they are to be met with. But there is reason to believe also, that at this season they change their ground; for even when the weather has permitted fishing in their summer haunts, and that too with what is known to be a favourite bait, they have not been caught until the spring is advanced. The young are not hatched within the body as is the case with the generality of Sharks; but they are separately enclosed in purses, which are of a firm texture like leather, of an oblong form, about three inches long, with a raised border, and having extended tendrils at the four corners; which become curled up when in contact with the water, and so fasten the case to some fixed substance, which preserves it from being tossed about by the violence of storms, and in some degree serves it in place of a nest. ‘They are deposited singly, or no more than two or three together, late in the year. But although I have some- times found these purses attached to some stalk of flexible coral, I have scarcely known an instance where the purse has been obtained from the body of the fish; from which the conclusion seems to arise, that at that time it does not take a bait. I have met with a young one, taken in a net, of less than four inches in length, but bearing all the marks of its full-grown parent. Although not so formidable with its teeth as many other Sharks, this fish is well able to defend itself from an enemy. When seized it throws its body round the arm that holds it, and by a contractile and reversed action of its body grates over the surface of its enemy with the rugged spines of its skin, like a rasp. ‘There are few animals that can bear so severe NURSE HOUND. 15 an infliction, by which their surface is torn with lacerated wounds. This species becomes more scarce as we proceed northward in the British Islands. This fish grows to the length of four or five feet. An ex- ample, three feet nine inches long, measured thirteen inches in girth behind the pectoral fins. The head depressed, blunt, rounded in front; eyes two inches from the front, three inches asunder, their figure a narrow oval, with a longi- tudinal fold below each of them; temporal orifice round, below the line of the posterior angle of the eye. The body lengthened posteriorly, with the tail extended in a direct line with its length. Pectoral fins low on the body, and wide. From the snout to the anterior dorsal fin twenty-two inches, to the second dorsal two feet five inches and a half; neither of them large. Anal fin opposite to the space between the dorsals; the abdominal fins anterior to the first dorsal. Caudal fin ending square. Nostrils an inch and a half from the snout, near the margin, the lobe irregularly folded; the mouth cir- cular, an inch and a half from the snout; teeth sharp, and in several rows. Colour dusky red, with numerous large dark spots; below white. The skin very rough from spicule, the points of which are directed backward. OVUM OF NURSE HOUND. 14 ROUGH HOUND. LESSER SPOTTED DOGFISH. ROWHOUND, the ancient pronunciation of Rough. MOoRGHI. Squalus catulus, LINN 2US. Catulus minor, WILLOUGHBY AND Ray; Tab. B. 4. cs aristotelis, Jonston, Article 2, Punctum 2. a3 Donovan’s Figures of British Fishes, No. 65. Scyllium catulus, Fiemine’s Br. Animals, p. 165, but this author is confused in his account of these fishes. Squale roussette, LacEPEDE; Poissons, vol. 11. ee SS Jenyns’ Manual, p. 495. a “s YaRREUL’s British Fishes, 2nd. ed., vol. i, p. 487. ob os Biocn’s Figures; Squalus catulus, Lesser Rough Hound, No. 114, a bad figure, probably taken, as also that of the Nurse Hound, from a badly-dried skin. ‘Tus species has much the same habits as the Nurse Hound, in keeping near the bottom, and prowling about in search of crustaceous animals and small fishes; but it is more frequently caught with the line, and that too at all seasons, as well as at a less depth of water. I have found it ready to shed its purses in April, but the more usual time is in summer and autumn, when it is common to find them in pairs in the body of the fish; and also eggs before their full development in considerable numbers. These purses are much smaller than those of the Nurse Hound, less firm in texture, of a different shape and a pale yellow colour; with slender tendrils at the corners, that at first may be stretched out to the length of a couple of feet. ‘These, as in the case of the Nurse Hound, serve the purpose of mooring the egg-case to some fixed ob- ject; and to ensure its safety the fish at first passes with it OUND. A ROUGH Il ROUGH HOUND. 15 round some tuft of flexible coral or sea-weed. The case thus becomes drawn from the body, and the remaining tendrils serve to bind it to the substance to which it is attached; to which, with a curling and contracting motion it becomes bound very firmly. I have seen where this action has caused the whole to assume the appearance of a nest, with the treasure well con- cealed within it, and of such a one the following is a particular description:—The main support of the whole mass was the flexible coral called Gorgonia verrucosa, about the branches of which the tendrils were entwined. The case still held the embryo, unhatched, within it; and the tendrils were so embedded and matted with the branches, as well as with the twisted threads of Sertularié growing on the same stone, as to shew that the prin- cipal portion of the Gorgonia (sea fern) and the whole of the Sertularve had obtained their growth since the egg-case had been deposited. There was also attached to this egg-case a pecten (shell-fish) about three lines in length, some serpule (triquetre) and anomie (wngues,) and a considerable portion of one side of the case was covered with a thin coating of alcyo- nium. ‘This was about the middle of December, and the coldness of such a season may explain the long delay which appears to have arisen in the development and escape of the embryo. But that it is not usually accomplished in a short time appears from the fact, that some egg-cases placed in pools of the rocks exposed to the free access of the sea, were not developed in several weeks, although they had made sufficient advancement to shew that it would be accomplished in due season. There are four slits at the corners of the egg-case, which have attracted the notice of naturalists, but the use of which has not yet received a satisfactory explanation. One supposition is, that they serve to admit water to the embryo within the case; but on trial I have found that the presence of even a small quantity of sea-water at an early stage of its existence is fatal to life. Another supposition is—that they serve to allow for the growth of the embryo by providing a means of escape for any fluid that might accumulate in the vacant space, and interfere with the growth of the enclosed young. Their use is at least obscure, as I have not been able to dis- cover any corresponding slit in the egg-case of its kindred 16 ROUGH HOUND. species, the Nurse Hound, nor in those of any of the Ray tribe. The motion of this species in the water appears to be slow and irregular, and little under the direction of intelligence; so that the prey might seem to be sought for at random rather than in pursuit. When high in the water, whither it some- times ascends, its progress is serpentine, with a motion of the head corresponding with that of the hinder part of the body. Fishermen remark that when in danger, both this species and the Nurse Hound shut their eyes; which is done by lifting the lower eyelid, as is the case with birds. The Rough Hound is in but little esteem with us as food; but it is not altogether rejected, for in the West of Cornwall it is used to make what is there valued as morghi soup: the name of morghi being an Ancient British word that signifies a sea-dog. But in some foreign countries it is greatly valued. Wil- loughby found it for sale in the market at Rome; and Risso, who confounds the species, and supposes the Seyllium stellaris to be the same with the Catulus maximus of Willoughby and Ray, speaks favourably of it, and pronounces the liver especially to be delicious. It appears, however, that as food it is not always without danger; and Lacepede mentions an instance where a family after eating it had a narrow escape of their lives. It is scarcely necessary to caution English people against exposing themselves to the same danger. It is a general remark, applicable indeed to the whole family of Sharks, that the female exceeds the male in size; but whether, as in their analogical races, the lion and eagle, they exceed also in ferocity, we have no opportunity of knowing. But the opinion of some naturalists—that some of the species continue to increase in bulk as long as they live, is certainly erroneous. Sharks generally are of quick growth; but they reach a de- finite magnitude in a very few years, and beyond this are not found to advance. In form it is more slender than the last species; it rarely reaches a yard in length: the specimen described measured two feet six inches. Head depressed, snout short and blunt, an inch and a quarter before the eye, which latter organ is of a slender oval shape; temporal orifice near its posterior angle; nostrils ROUGH HOUND. V7 large and lobed; mouth nine tenths of an inch from the snout. Pectoral fins low and wide; teeth numerous, sharp; skin rough, with short but sharp points; colour reddish brown, lighter on the belly; covered with numerous small dark brown spots, the smallest on the back, larger on the sides and fins. I have seen an example that was paler than usual, with faint “spots, but over the whole surface were scattered irregular very black patches, as if mottled with pitch; and each patch having a border round it of a lighter colour than the ground. But I could not discover any other distinction beyond this of colour, from the common examples of the Rough Hound. OVUM OF ROUGH HOUND, (WITH CASE.) VOL, 1. D 18 PRISTIURUS. Tuis genus differs from Sey/i‘wm-in having a more lengthened snout, nostrils unconnected with the mouth, and by a row of larger reclin- ing spines or scales arranged like a saw along the upper edge of the tail; which latter organ proceeds in a right lime with the body, as in Scyllium. The generic name refers to the saw-like structure of the ridge of the tail. BLACK-MOUTHED DOGFISH. EYED DOGFISH. Scyllium melanostomum, YaRRELL’s Br. Fishes, vol. ii., p. 495. Pyistiurus melanostomus, Lowe’s Fishes of Madeira, T. 14. Pristidurus melanostomus, Gray; Catalogue Br. Mus., p. 124. Tus fish is widely spread, although it was not recognised as a species—at least in Britain—before the publication of Mr. Yarrell’s History of British Fishes; which contained the figure and description, a specimen of which, a larger likeness, is given in this volume. It has since been found by Mr. Lowe, in the Island of Madeira; and it now appears that it is scarcely rare in some parts of the north of our island; where, how- ever, before the publication of an authentic likeness, it had been supposed the same with our Nurse Hound: the last- named species being therefore unknown on that coast. The Black-mouthed or Eyed Dogfish is better known in the Mediterranean than with us. It is mentioned by Risso and Rafinesque, but without adding much to our knowledge of its habits. The latter says that the blackness of the inside of its mouth had caused it to have the name—in Italian, of Bocca d’Inferno, or hell’s mouth. Its haunts appear to be near the ground, and both the examples I have met with were caught with the line. It also resembles its nearest affinities the Scyllia, in depositing egg-cases in which the young are hatched; but MOUTHED DOGFISE, oe BLACK Ill BLACK-MOUTHED DOGFISH. i the form of these cases differs considerably—as well from those 'of the other ground Sharks, as from the purses of the Ray tribe. Mr. Yarrell (2nd. Ed.) gives a figure of one, in which the tendrils are at one of the ends only, and so short as to be incapable of that entwining action which is the principal character of the egg-case of the Nurse and Rough Hounds. They cannot, therefore, confine it to any fixed substance, and what further use they are of is uncertain. Mr. Lowe also gives a figure of this case, but unfortunately his description is at variance with his figure; the latter being marked as of the natural size, when it falls greatly: short of the specified dimensions—an inch and half long, and half an inch broad; with a smooth shining surface and deep tawny yellow brown or horn colour. It is of value, however, on one account; for there is in it a visible slit at the end where a tendril is placed, as in the purse of the Rough Hound. The specimen, from which my original description was taken, was in length twenty-five inches and three quarters, and seven inches round where stoutest. ‘The head flat on the top, rather wide posteriorly; snout thin, protruded one inch and three quarters from the anterior angle of the eye; nostrils one inch and a quarter from the snout, double one beneath linear, the other on the margin, the hinder edge prominent, a depression in the head immediately above it; eye rather large, oval, close behind -it a moderately-sized temporal orifice; mouth one inch and three quarters wide; teeth numerous, small, sharp, at each side of the base of each tooth a small sharp process; spiracles five, open. The back a little elevated close behind the head; the skin rough when the hand is passed over it forward. Pectoral fins wide, much like those of the Picked Dog. ‘The first dorsal begins behind the ventral fins, at twelve inches from the snout; the second at sixteen inches and a half—both rather small; ventrals ten inches from the snout; anal fin four inches long, rather narrow, terminating just opposite the end of the second dorsal; extreme length of the tail seven inches—the upper lobe in a line with the body, bent down towards the termination, round, incised or jagged; under lobe rather narrow in its course, expanded beneath; the upper ridge of the superior lobe has a double row of prickles pointing outward and downward on each side; lateral line 20 BLACK-MOUTHED DOGFISH. suddenly bent opposite the origin of the caudal fin. Colour light brown on the head and along the back; on each side two rows of ocellated spots—one row beginning at the side of the neck and continued along the side of the back; the second row commencing behind the eye and passing along the upper side of the belly, becoming obsolete near the ventral fins. These rows are separated by numerous irregular spots, which however, assume somewhat of a straight direction; the fins and hinder part of the back are finely barred and clouded with various tints of brown and yellow; the mouth dark- coloured within. This example was a male, and was ornamented with lively colours; but since then I have obtained one in which the colour was so diluted as to appear almost of a uniform grey; although on close inspection the usual markings could be dis- cerned. It was also a male, and its pale colour may be explained by its emaciated condition, for it appeared as if in a state of starvation. The length was a little beyond two feet, which therefore I suppose to be the ordinary size, but the caudal portion of the body behind the second dorsal fin appeared longer than in the former example. ‘i iS Ae ee “ae ae Nike ea ea Se Jah ‘SMUVES GETITID-xXIS NOTIDANUS. Cuvier remarks that this genus only differs from the genus - Galeus, presently to be described, in not having a first dorsal fin; but even a slight inspection will shew that the distinction between them is very great; and that Votidanus bears a closer resemblance to Scylliwm and Pristiurus, as well in shape as habits, so far as the latter are known. It even appears that the resemblance is carried so far in a species found in the Kast Indies, that it is covered with spots, which are black. We place it therefore the next in succession to those its kin- dred genera; and propose to limit it more closely than Baron Cuvier has done, by excluding from it the Mediterranean species with seven gill openings. The shape and general form of the latter will warrant this; but not being an inhabitant of our seas it will not find a place in our History. The genus Votzdanus therefore, is distinguished by a rounded snout, the want of a first dorsal fin, a lengthened tail, which is stretched out as in the genus Scylliwm, an anal fin, and remarkably by the presence of six gill openings. It is the genus Hexanchus of Rafinesque. The name Votidanus appears to have been a local one among the Greeks, and may have been applied to the fish we are about to de- scribe. It signifies ‘dry back,’’ perhaps as being, metaphorically, void of a fin in the usual place. Jonston supposes that the term Wotidanus may have been applied to quite another species—the Centriné, a native of the Mediterranean, but not found with us. SIX-GILLED SHARK. SIX-BRANCHIAL SHARK. GREY SHARK. Squalus griseus, Turton’s Linnazus. Le Squale. Griset, Lacerepe. Risso; Ichthyologie, p. 37. Grey Shark, Zoologist, 1846, p. 1387. Hexanchus griseus, Dr. Gray; Catalogue Br. Mus., p. 67. te ce YaRRELL’s Br. F., 2nd. Suppl. p. 25. Notidanus griseus, CuviER. THE example from which the description is taken, measured in length no more than two feet two inches and half; but it has been caught of the length of eleven or twelve feet. ‘The payee SIX-GILLED SHARK. head wide and level over the summit, the breadth from eye to eye two inches and three quarters; the snout rounded in front and somewhat thick; eye large, staring, and slightly oval, without an angle on the anterior portion or inner canthus, and destitute of a nictitant membrane (a loose membrane, separate from the eyelids, and which covers a portion of the globe in some Sharks. It is a conspicuous organ in birds.) ‘This portion of the eye is immediately over the symphysis of the lower jaw. The larger nostril is half way between the eye and snout, enclosed by a prominent margin, the orifice directed forward. ‘Temporal orifice small, an inch and half from the posterior angle of the eye. The gape large, tongue bound down and not ap- parent; teeth in the upper jaw eight on each side, thin at the base, the points slender and sharp, not serrated, their direction towards the angle of the mouth. A small vacancy at the symphysis of this jaw, and a little in advance of this are four teeth, the two middle ones being parallel and very slender, the points directed towards the mouth; the other two more remote, and their points diverging. A little in advance of these are other two, which might easily escape observation, being slender, smaller, and more loosely attached. As in the upper jaw so in the lower there is a single row of teeth, but they differ greatly in form, being thin and -broad, their anterior margin higher, the sloping edge finely serrated; they are six in number on each side of the symphysis, with what appears like a small bifid intermediate one. Orifices of the gills six, closely approaching each other; the openings long and encircling the throat. Pectoral fins wide, triangular. Body with the general proportions of the Picked Dogfish, but the head wider and larger. Dorsal fin single, its anterior edge fourteen inches from the snout, and opposite the space between the ventrals and anal—larger than the latter. Caudal fin six inches and a half long, and consequently more than one fourth of the length of the fish; and longer as well as more slender than that of any other British Shark except the '‘Thrasher,— (Alopias vulpes.) ‘The lower lobe of this fin is falcate, and grows more slender as it proceeds, being narrowest opposite the notch. Along the posterior two thirds of the upper margin of the tail is a row of spines, of three series, closely pressed together at the roots, and the two outmost regularly diverging, SIX-GILLED SHARK. 2a thus shewing a near correspondence with a like structure in the genus Pristivrus. The texture of the skin is rough when felt against the grain. Colour blackish brown on the back, and. pectoral, dorsal, and caudal fins; reddish grey on the sides, white beneath. Lateral line pale, bent suddenly down at the falcate portion of the tail. Conjunctiva of the eye bluish white, the pupil large and black. It was a male—the claspers small. The example here described was taken with a line, at the distance of about three miles from the land on the south coast of Cornwall, and at the time when it was caught appeared to be feeding on pilchards. In its habits it is undoubtedly a ground Shark, and like the others of that class—the Nurse and Rough Hounds—appears to want activity. The fisherman who caught this fish informed me that it scarcely moved after it was taken into the boat. Risso says that in the Mediterranean it keeps in very deep water, but in some parts is not uncommon; but Swainson never met with it during six years in which he “resided in Sicily. It also appears to have been unknown to 3 the older naturalists, and I have sought for it in vain in the “works of Rondeletius, Gesner, Willoughby and Ray, Jonston { : and Ruysch, who may be judged to represent the ichthyo- ee eical knowledge of their day. It was not known to Artedi, nor to Linnzus so lately as at the publication of the tenth edition of his system; but is recognised in Turton’s translation of Gmelin’s edition of that work, under the scarcely appropriate name of Squalus griseus. It is there represented as growing to the length of two feet and a half; but although this differs so little from the size of the Cornish specimen, it is clear, from the additional teeth specified by Turton, that the latter must have been a younger individual. An example, the first and only other that has been taken in Britain, was caught with a line off Ventnor, in the Isle of Wight, and measured little less than eleven feet in length; and Risso describes the fish in terms which can signify nothing less than these full proportions. In the specimen referred to by Turton there was only one row of teeth in the upper jaw, but there were many rows in the lower; from which we may judge that it is about this period of its growth that the evolution of dentition begins to shew itself, and first in the lower jaw. Risso assigns three rows: of triangular sharp-pointed teeth to the Q4 SIX-GILLED SHARK. upper jaw, and to the lower five; and he adds that the central inferior teeth are sharp and conical; by which I under- stand him to say, that at the symphysis, between the lateral arrangements of flat serrated teeth he made out two or more of what I had supposed to be a single bifid tooth. It is probable he is correct; but they are pressed closely together, and erect, so that their exact structure cannot be ascertained with- out some degree of mutilation. Both the British specimens here referred to are now added to the stores of the British Museum. HEAD OF SIX-GILLED SHARK, aN MUVHS ALIHM ra?) Or CARCHARIAS. Tne species have no spiracles or breathing orifices behind the eyes, and have an anal fin. The first dorsal fin ‘much before the ventrals, and the second about opposite to the anal. A depression at the origin of the upper lobe of the tail. The teeth are generally compressed and cutting; usually serrated on the edge; but this can scarcely be taken into the definition of the genus, since one or two species are without it, that in all other respects agree with the others. Carcharias is the Greek name of some kind of the larger Sharks. WHITE SHARK. Squalus carcharias, LInNzZuUS AND CUVIER. Canis carcharias, Lamia anp Trspuro of Authors; Artedi. sf ss Jonston; Articulus 2, Punctum 1. . y Wittoucusy; p. 47. Cuvier rightly observes that Willoughby’s figure, B 7, is not worthy of being referred to. This was copied among other “ill- shaped fishes,” from Gesner, who probably had possessed a dried skin of the fish; and from him again it was copied by Jonston. But Cuvier has overlooked a figure in the appendix, tab. 5, f. 1, which Willoughby had copied from that accurate Dutch traveller, John Nieuhofs; and which, except at the end of the tail, affords a very tolerable figure of the species we have to describe.—Risso; Icthyologie, p. 25. TuaT more than one, or even two species, have been confounded together under the name of the White Shark, is almost certain. It seems remarkable also that no trustworthy figure and description are to be found, of a species which is seen in abundance in the West Indies; where it is the dread of sailors, who are in constant fear of becoming its prey when they bathe or fall into the sea. That it sometimes wanders into the British Channel there is much evidence to shew. In WOLs I E 26 WHITE SHARK. the “Annual Register,” for 1785, quoted m “Loudon’s Mag- azine of Natural History,”’ vol. vii, it is said that in September of that year, vast numbers of the West India Shark appeared in the Channel, and many of them were taken by fishermen of Brighton. The example presently to be described, and of which we give a figure, was of small size, and measured no more than fifty-four inches in length; but several others have been seen in Mount’s Bay in Cornwall, of much larger size; and one, which was seen by a gentleman who had often ob- served the White Shark in the West Indies, and was pronounced by him to be of the same species, measured about twenty feet in length It appears necessary to make those remarks on the identity of the species, since the Great White Shark of the West Indies is said not to be furnished with a spiracle behind the eye; whereas in the description of our example it will be per- ceived that this organ existed, although it was of such small size as to be easily overlooked. ‘This circumstance would transfer the species to the next following genus Galews; of which no other British species is known beside the common ‘oper. But I prefer to let it remain in this place, at least until it is ascertained whether or not there is another species without a minute spiracle; and consequently whether or not naturalists are in error in that respect. Laid by the side of a Toper of the same length the difference was conspicuous, even at first sight, although the likeness was sufficiently near to bear a comparison. A well-marked distinction is in the eye, which stands out prominently, exceeding that of the Blue Shark in this respect, while in the Toper it is slightly below the level. The spiracle is very small, and_ barely on a level with the surface, where in the Toper there is a depression. The snout of the latter fish has the appearance of being longer, through the great thickness of the head, and prominency of the eye of our White Shark; the snout of which is also substantially thicker, and consequently less flat. It is especially sunk in at the nostrils, where the Toper is much less so, and its nostrils are less open. ‘Teeth notched cn both edges; pectoral fins longer; the body thicker throughout, especially from the abdominal fins to the tail, From the second dorsal to the tail, where the Toper is round, there is a cavity WHITE SHARK. Q7 or depression; anal fin a little less than the second dorsal. Colour brown, darker on the back, lighter on the belly. It should be observed that the tail of the White Shark, as represented in Mr. Yarrell’s figure, 2nd. Ed., vol. ii, p. 502, does not agree with a specimen of that part in my possession from the West Indies, nor indeed with the other figure at page 503, nor with Lacepede’s plate 8, fig. 1 of vol. i. The White Shark is to sailors the most formidable of all the inhabitants of the ocean; for in none besides are the powers of inflicting injury so equally combined with eagerness to ac- complish it. They usually cut asunder any object of considerable size, and thus swallow it; but if they find a difficulty in doing this, there is no hesitation in passing into the stomach even what is of enormous bulk; and the formation of the jaws and throat render this a matter of but little difficulty. Ruysch says that the whole body of a man, and even a man in armour, (loricatus,) has been found in the stomach of a White Shark; and Captain King, in his survey of Australia, says he had caught one which could have swallowed a man with the greatest ease. Blumenbach says a whole horse has been found in it: and Captain Basil Hall reports the taking of one in which, besides other things, he found the whole skin of a buffalo, which a short time before had been thrown overboard from his ship. Happily the visits of this fish to our coasts are too rare to expose our sailors to its depredations. Upper and under tooth of White Shark, from the West Indies, 28 BLUE SHARK. Squalus glaucus, Linn aus. ce - Gray; Catalogue of British Museum, p. 125. Carcharias glaucus, CUVIER. t ie FLemine; British Animals, p. 167. = % Jenyns; Manual, p. 499. se a YARRELL; British Fishes, 2nd. Ed., vol. ii, p. 498. THe Blue Shark is a restless and wandering fish, which mi- grates to our coasts in summer, and is even found at that time to stray so far north as the Orkney Islands; but it leaves us again on the approach of winter; and if, with the commentators on the Halieuticon of the poet Oppian, we are to believe that the fish Glaucus of that writer is the same with the Glaucus of /Mlian, the season when it abounds with us is the time when it has disappeared from the seas of Italy. I have known it thrown on shore in Cornwall so early as the first week in March, but it is rarely seen before the month of June; when its arrival is made known by the injuries it inflicts on the nets and lines of fishermen. This is done in hunting after the fish that have become entangled, and so are more easily seized; and as the drift-nets are stretched out for pilchards or herrings, it will pass along their course from one end to the other, and cut out every separate fish with the portion of net that held it; all of which it swallows together. If it is entangled for a moment, its keen and serrated teeth soon effect an escape, whether from the net or hook; but the latter case is sometimes attended with difficulty, and then it is that its instinctive efforts often lead to a curious complication of circumstances. It is the habit of such of the family of Sharks as swim high in the water, when they seize their prey to do it with the action of turning the head and fore parts of the body; which method EN HUVHs aad a | | 2 7, ads ’ BLUE SHARK. 29 of proceeding has been supposed to arise from a difficulty that is felt in seizing an object with the mouth in a prone position; but which appears to be adopted only that they may obtain a greater advantage in a rolling motion, to cut the object in two parts, or more effectually with a vibrating action of the head, to separate such a portion as they are prepared to swallow. On a large substance, with their formidable array of teeth the grasp cannot fail to be successful; but with so slender a buik as a fisherman’s line, it is sometimes otherwise; and when this has escaped the grinding action of the bite, the turning of the body is continued until the whole of the line is twisted round itself, and the fish is thus brought to the surface, even from a depth of forty fathoms. The Toper has been known to do the same thing under the like circumstances. It appears that this fish pursues its prey by sight rather than by scent, although its nerve of smelling is of large size; but it is known to be sensible to a nauseous smell or taste, for fishermen assert that it may be driven away by pouring bilge- water into the sea where it is: a piece of information that may be of use in reference to the still more destructive White Shark, The Blue Shark seems to have a generally rapacious appetite, and has been known to leap out of the water to seize a piece of beef hanging on the quarter of a ship. It is only owing, therefore, to the circumstance that usually it does not come very close to the land, or enter harbours, that man himself does not suffer from its voracity. Jonston is of opinion that it shews a preference for human flesh; and he records an instance where a soldier was attacked by it, and had a narrow escape from being severely bitten. In a fish of such indiscriminate appe- tite it might appear superfluous to specify particulars; but from the stomach of one of six feet in length I have taken a large Picked Dogfish and a Conger, each bitten across at the middle, and also a Grey Gurnard. [n another instance there were found four mackerel, half a garfish, and as many herrings, wholly uninjured, as the fisherman so!d for eighteen pence. Yet after such a hearty meal the Sharks devoured the bait. It is also remarkably retentive of live, as indeed are the whole 30 BLUE SHARK. of this tribe of fishes. An individual was caught with a line, its liver was cut out, and the bowels left hanging from the body, in which state it was again thrown into the sea. But it continued near the boat; and not long afterwards it pursued, and attempted to devour, a mackerel that had escaped from the net. In another instance the fish was thrown overboard after the head had been severed from the body; after which, for a couple of hours, the body continued to use the efforts of swimming in various directions—to employ the comparison of a boy on board the boat—as if it were looking for its head. When taken into the boat a large Shark may still prove a formidable enemy, by lashing with its tail in all directions; but the chopping off of this organ presently removes the danger. There is, however, another mode of proceeding, which may be more conveniently and effectually practised, even before it is lifted into the boat. The olfactory nerve, which is the largest in the body, is so stunned by a blow on the snout, that for a time the creature is entirely disabled; although indeed con- tinued immersion in the sea will again restore the possession of its energies. A Shark of very large size, that was making great resistance, was speedily disabled by having its tail laid hold of, and lifted high out of water, while the head and upper parts remained immersed. This species does not produce its young during the time it is on our coast, and in only one instance have I found eggs in its body. We may therefore conclude that its fecundity is between the time of its: leaving our seas in the autumn, and its return in the early part of summer; but the young ones of about eighteen inches or two feet in length, frequently come to us with their parents. In regard to this point in the history of the Blue Shark, as also of some others of this family, there are some remarkable particulars, in which the opinions of ancient writers find little favour in the judgment of modern naturalists, from the well- known credulity of the former, and their proneness to place a wrong interpretation on even the commonest occurrences of nature; but which are supported by the observations and con- sequent belief of sailors of our own day. Nor are the latter disposed to alter their convictions by the doubts or disbelief of the scientific naturalists of the land and closet. I refer BLUE SHARK. 31 especially to the credit which this fish has obtained for the exercise of intense love for its offspring, which is in remarkable contrast to the ferocity it exhibits towards the other inhabitants of the deep; and for the manner in which it is supposed to have displayed it, as described in the following translation of the Greek poem by Oppian, on fish and fishing:— “Others, when aught disturbs the ravaged seas, _ And trembling young their conscious fears express, Extend their jaws, and shew the safer way:— The frighted stragglers soon the call obey, Within the concave roof uninjured rest, Safe as the chirper in his mossy nest. Thus the Blue Sharks, secure from chasing foes, Within their widen’d mouths their young enclose. Beneath the circling arch they fearless hide, Tho’ bulky forms drive on the rising tide.— Of all oviparous kinds that throng the seas, The fond Blue Sharks in tender care surpass.— They near their fondlings, like some careful nurse, Observe their motions and restrain their course, Hye every wave, and shew the doubtful way, Teach where to hunt, and where to find their prey. When big with secret guilt the waters heave, They in their mouths their shelter’d young receive. But when the waves at their own leisure roll, And no fierce robber drives the scatter’d shoal, Again the parent’s pointed jaws compress’d By force expel them from their pleasing rest.” Oppian, Hal., b. i, A method of taking this or a kindred species is thus described: “When fishers meet the Shark’s rapacious young, Loos’d from its oar the tatter’d rope is flung Unarm’d below; th’ imprudent wanton flies With eager jaws, and grasps the worthless prize. Hooks ev’n the prey supplies; with numerous chains His teeth recurve the entangled flax retains. Easy the fisher’s toil; the slave self-bound, Mounts on the barbed spears retentive wound.” Another Greek writer, ‘lian, who wrote about the same time with Oppian, but who cannot be regarded in any other light than as an industrious and indiscriminate collector of frag- ments which floated on the surface of society, repeats in humble prose the same opinions regarding their affection for their young; but he ascribes this affection to the father, and extends it also to the Galeus, which is one that he supposes to keep generally aa BLUE SHARK. at the bottom of the sea. The mistake of supposing that this fish produces its young from eggs, is common to both those authors; but the supposition countenanced by the latter, that the Galeus produces its young at the mouth, may be regarded as no other than an ignorant surmise, by an observer who might suppose that what he saw of the return of young ones from their hiding place, was really their first appearance in the world of waters. But it must be admitted that hitherto on this subject we may justly be suspected to have been wandering in the region of fable; and that facts mentioned by those ancient authors are so often mingled with false conclusions, superstition, and errors, as to render it difficult to separate one from the other. We allege, on the other hand however, that, even when this is allowed, the information thus conveyed is so far a matter of interest as, according to information afforded us by a commen- tator on Oppian, the opinion of its certainty is several times referred to by some of the fathers of the church; and thus is metaphorically employed towards spiritual uses. But incredible as this strange proceeding may appear to us, it receives corroboration from the authority of Rondeletius, who was a physician of eminence, and Professor of Natural History in the College of Montpellier; and whose book on the “History of Fishes,” is still held in high estimation. He speaks of the Thrasher, ( Alopecias vulpes,) as receiving its young in this manner when in danger, as we shall shew more at large when we treat of that fish; and besides the evidence of those whom we may suppose ignorant sailors, I have received the following information from a gentleman, who was on board a ship, of which his father, a captain in the Royal Navy, was commander, in or near the tropics. A Shark had seized the hook, and was about to be hauled on board, when feur young ones were seen to escape from it; and being then drawn on deck, three more of them were cut out from the stomach or mouth. Placed in a vessel of water they were kept alive for three days afterwards, and appeared to have suffered nothing from their strange confinement. The impossibility of surviving such an imprisonment as is here supposed, has been urged in proof that even if the young have been found inclosed within the stomach, or have been BLUE SHARK. 33 seen to enter the mouth, the circumstance is to be explained by the well-known rapacious appetite of the parent, rather than by its affection; and that it will require both a closer and longer continued observation to render the more amiable motive the undeniable one. But that the young may be received into the stomach and return without injury, appears from evidence adduced by Mr. Darwin, in his “Journal of a Voyage round the World.” “I have heard,” says he, “from Dr. Allen, of Forres, that he has frequently found a Diodon, floating alive and distended, in the stomach of the Shark; and that on several occasions he has known it eat its way, not only through the coats of the stomach, but through the sides of the monster, which has thus been killed.” It is further known of all the Sharks, that they possess a power of throwing up from the stomach at their will anything they find indigestible; so that the natural difficulties of the case are less than they appear. From its well-known destructive character fishermen are always eager to shorten the race of this fish; and in consequence many hundreds of them are caught in the course of a season. But the capture is of no intrinsic value, for it yields no other profit than some oil from the liver, and the body for manure. Jonston, in common with other writers, describes this fish as having teeth with serrated edges; but Lacepede, vol. i., knows no other but a Blue Shark with teeth specially described as having edges not serrated. Risso, Icthyologie, p. 26, describes a Blue Shark with the same characters as those of Lacepede; but he also gives another species, which he rightly believes to be the true Sgualus glaucus of Artedi, and consequently of Linneus, having serrated teeth, but with brilliant silvery bands on the sides; and which he names S. Rondeletii. Willoughby’s description is of a young one, having only one row of teeth, which are serrated; but he says they are distant from each other in the jaw; which remark can only refer to their very early condition, for each succeeding row is followed by another row, to close up the vacancies of that before it; so that when in the progress of growth they become pressed together, they overlap each other and become contiguous. I have already given in our general history of the Sharks, a short account of the manner in which the teeth of this order of fishes are formed, and finally proceed to their decay and VOL. I. aa) 34 BLUE SHARK. loss; but as there is some degree of variety in the way in which this process takes place in the different species, I will enter a little further into the description of it as I have observed it in the present one. We have already seen that the seat of the tooth-forming process is in a thick membrane, which covers the jaws on their inner surface, and which passes over them externally. This membrane is in a condition of perpetual production, and at its origin is formed into a series of cells or doublings, in each of which the germ of a tooth may be discovered, soft and mem- branous, and seemingly nourished from the sides of the sac or cell itself. It lies flat along the course of the membrane that contains it, with the point directed downward in the lower jaw, and towards the roof of the mouth in the upper jaw; m such a manner as that in passing to its final destination, it has to go through the third part of a circle, in the course of which the upper doubling of the containing cell becomes torn through its substance. The enamel of these teeth has no existence at first; so that their substance is as soft and flexible as parchment; but as their growth proceeds the nourishment from the sides of the cell ceases, so that at last it is furnished only from the root; and at this stage the circulation of nutriment by the vessels appears to be from near the point, along the middle line of each tooth, along which the solid firmness they at last obtain is clearly to be discerned. The membrane within which these teeth have been formed, is itself constituted of longitudinal fibres, of some degree of firmness, with softer cellular membrane at the part in which the teeth receive their actual formation; and as in the course of nature, the former become more rigid from defect of nourishment, they contract in their substance, and thus draw the roots of the teeth nearer to the situation they are destined to occupy, but still leaving a vacancy which can only be supplied by the successive formation of teeth in alternate order; the cells of one row being opposite to the vacancies of the other, and only pressed closer, because the fibrous membrane connecting them has in time admitted of a more rigid contraction. In some species of this great family, as the Monkfish, (Squatina angelus,) and many of the Ray tribe, the teeth cells are arranged in regular linear suc- cession, without the filling up of the vacancies between them; BLUE SHARK. 39 but the manner of formation and progress is otherwise the same. In the last mentioned instances, however, the teeth are short, and therefore are easily brought through the coats of the cells; but this is not the case with the Blue Shark and some others. A vacant space of softer texture in the rear of each tooth is to them of importance, as securing to them a thinner and weaker place at which they can burst through; while the contraction of the fibres of the membrane, by drawing the teeth subsequently together, secures to them even a greater firmness of support than if there had not been an original separation. But the rigidity of those contractile fibres does not stop here. Nourish- ment is by this means diminished, and finally ceases. The tooth becomes a dead substance, and soon falls off with the membrane itself that held it, to be presently succeeded by a new race that must pass through the same changes, and to be shed again in their turn. A limit is thus put to the number of rows the fish can be furnished with, and security taken that no old or useless teeth shall remain to encumber the jaws. From the references given to authors who have described some kind of Blue Shark, it appears highly probable that more than one species exist, and may sometimes visit the British coasts; although I do not feel assured of being able to lay down definite marks by which they may be distinguished from each other. I must content myself for the present, therefore, in producing such evidence on the subject as shall serve to call the attention of naturalists to further inquiry, rather than run the risk of misleading them by speaking with greater certainty on their specific distinctions. On comparing two specimens a considerable difference is seen in the form of the head and eye, as well as in the tail; which in one instance runs nearly straight backward in a line with the body, while in the other this organ is wider and more elevated. I make but little account of the variety of colour described by Risso, in his Squalus Rondeletii, because it is known that most fishes are lable to variation in this respect; and it is especially the case when they have changed the water and bright skies of the Mediterranean for the more sober tints of the British Channel. But the difference of the teeth is a more important distinction; more especially as I am able to affirm with confidence that this character of serrated teeth is not an 36 BLUE SHARK. effect of age, but.is to be perceived in Sharks in the earliest stage of their growth. The largest I have heard of, but not seen, was upwards of fourteen feet long, but the more ordinary size is from six to eight feet in length; the body round and slender, tapering towards the tail. Head flat on the top, snout depressed, pro- jecting; the mouth far beneath, well furnished with strong, flat, triangular teeth, the poimts inclining inward, the edges serrated. Nostrils a good distance from the mouth, and not lobed; gill openings five, near the root of the pectoral fin. Skin but slightly rough; pectoral fins large and long, although not pro- portionally so much so as is represented in Lacepede’s figure of his smooth-toothed Blue Shark, vol. 1., pl. 9, f. 1; and which therefore, if correctly represented, will be an additional mark of distinction between the two species. ‘These fins are placed low on the body in all Sharks, and in the Blue Shark end in a point. The ventrals small; the anterior border of the first dorsal fin begins midway between the snout and root of the tail; the second dorsal opposite the anal. The upper lobe of the tail moderately long, with a notch, as in most Sharks, near the end; at its root also, where it joins the body, a deep depression, but I have known this wanting. ‘The upper parts of the body and fins blue, the belly white. INSIDE VIEW OF THE TEETH, UPPER TEETH, HER. VII THRAS ~t iio) ALOPECIAS. Tus is a genus established by Miiller and Henle, and described as with a pointed, conic head, very small spiracles, small gill openings, and simple triangular teeth, but particularly marked by a very great extension of the tail. It is the genus Alopias of Rafinesque and Swainson; but the latter writers had overlooked the very small spiracles. THRASHER. SEA FOX. FOX SHARK. SEA APE. Carcharias vulpes, Cuvier. Fuiemine; p. 167. Vulpecula marina, Jonston; p. 27. Vulpes marina, Wittoucusy; p. 54, Tab. B. 6, the figure tolerably correct, except in the tail. Squalus vulpes, JENYNS; p. 498. ie YaRRELL; British Fishes, vol. 2, p. 522. Squale Renard, Lacrerepe anp Risso; Ichth., p. 36. « « Gray; Catalogue of British Museum, p. 130. Tus fish has obtained the name of Fox Shark because of its tail, which, like that of its namesake of the land, is a prin- cipal portion of its distinctive character. But the ancient Greeks and Romans, who were well acquainted with the fish, were not content with finding in it nothing more than this likeness of analogy; and therefore they went on to draw the conclusion that a fish answering to this name must of necessity be endowed with the other distinguishing portions of the foxine character. This fish is not recognised in the tenth edition of the System of Linneus, but it is the Squalus vulpes of Turton’s Linneus. The Thrasher, or Sea Fox, is so very rarely taken on a line, that no instance of it has come within my knowledge; but the reason of this probably amounts to no more than that fishermen do not employ the bait that tempts its appetite. AZlian, how- 38 THRASHER. ever, reporting the common opinion of his day, supposes that this portion of its safety is to be ascribed to superior cunning. According to him it is so cautious of a hook, as scarcely to be enticed to come near it; or if appetite at any time should overcome caution, it would mount upward to slacken the line, and then cut away the hook before the fisherman was aware of its presence. Or if unfortunately the hook had found its way into the stomach, it would turn this organ, with its en- trails also, inside out, and so get rid of it and the danger together. (Var. Hist., B.1, C. 5, and Hist. of Animals.) Oppian also speaks of the same proceeding as an instance of superior intelligence, (B. 3,) and from him we learn that. in fishing for it, at least the lower portion of the line was formed of hair. To guard the hook from being cut away, the line for some distance above it was armed, or as a fisherman who now uses the same precaution, would say, was ganged, with flexible brass wire twisted regularly and firmly around it. But strange as they may appear, these efforts to escape are not to be altogether regarded as imaginary on the part of the writers. We cannot indeed affirm it of this species in particular, but the greater part of the Sharks will deal with the fisherman’s hooks in the manner described; and there are fishes, although perhaps not Sharks, which are known, probably through fear, to evert the stomach, when drawn up with the line. ‘The explanation of the ancients is, In numerous instances, more of a mistake than the narration of the fact itself. The angry disposition which this fish is believed to manifest to all the animals of the Whale tribe, has been often remarked by sailors; and the manner in which it is shewn has obtained for it the name of Thrasher. The lashing of the sea by its tail has been known to put to hasty flight a herd of sportive Dolphins; and instances are reported where a Sword-fish on the one hand, and a ‘Thrasher on the other, have persecuted a large Whale in the severest manner, perhaps even to death; and yet it is not easy to imagine why such terror should be felt at the presence of such an enemy; for its teeth could not do injury, and it does not possess any other weapon of offence. The motive of the persecution also on the one side is as unintelligible as fear of the Thrasher is on the other. The Thrasher is not uncommon on the western and southern THRASHER. 39 coasts of Britam in the summer, and is sometimes caught en- tangled in drift nets. I have been informed of two of them taken in this manner at one time, and from the circumstances attending the capture of these and others, we may conclude that the force they exert in the water is very great; as indeed we might also conclude from the length and flexibility of their tail. ‘They had carried the whole body of the net before them, until it had been thrown back over the head ropes; by which means they had fallen into a bag, from which they had not been able to extricate themselves. It is one of the fishes that has been reported to receive its young ones into its stomach as a place of shelter; and Ron- deletius informs us that he saw them cut out from a Thrasher that had been taken. The fishermen supposed that they had been swallowed through hunger; but from their being alive and uninjured, he felt no doubt that his own conclusion was the true one. I found young herrings in the stomach of one I examined. From an intimation of ‘lian, it appears probable that the Greek fishermen were in the habit of seeking after it for food, (Yar. Hist., B. 1,) and for this purpose Risso pronounces it very good. It is worthy of notice in this place that the author who first described this fish, was the well-known Dr. Joannes Caius, (John Keys,) who wrote a work, “De Canibus Britannicis,” at the end of which, ‘de rariorum animalium historia,’ he gives an account of an example that had been taken in a net in the year 1569. Its length from the snout to the tail was seven (Roman) feet, and of the tail seven feet and a half. He calls it Cercus, and derives the name from the Greek Karcos, because of its tail:—a curious etymology for an English word. The flesh he compares to that of a Salmon, but confesses that it was not quite as agreeable to the palate as the flesh of that fish. The extreme length of an example was in a straight line ten feet ten inches and a half, and along the curve eleven feet eight inches; three feet four inches and a half round where thickest; conical from the snout to the pectoral fins, and thick even to the tail, which from the root is five feet and a half long, and consequently more than half the length of the body. Eye prominent, round, hard, and four inches from the snout; 40 THRASHER. iris blue, pupil green; nostrils small, not lobed; mouth five inches wide, shaped like a horse-shoe; teeth flat, triangular, in two or three rows, not numerous; gill openings five. Pectoral fins wide at the base, pointed, eighteen inches and a half long. The body measured along the curve to the first dorsal fin two feet five inches, the fin triangular; from the first to the second dorsal fourteen inches and a half; this and the anal very small, which is an important part of the generic character, as assigned by Rafinesque and Swainson, the former being one and three quarters, and the latter one inch wide at the base; abdominal fins rather small, and triangular; above and below at the base of the tail a deep depression. Extreme breadth of the tail, including both lobes, thirteen inches; the upper lobe narrow through its length; and at four inches from its extremity on the lower margin is a triangular process. Lateral line central and straight; skin smooth. Colour of the body and fins dark bluish, mottled with white over the belly. An example of this fish, taken in the Mount’s Bay, in Corn- wall, measured twelve feet in length, which may therefore be taken as about the usual length; but im November, 1799, an example was obtained at Dieppe, in France, as reported by Lacepede, which measured fifteen feet in length, and five feet in circumference; and which therefore exceeded in mag- nitude that which is described by Caius. Dr. Smith is reported to have discovered spiracles or temporal orifices, of very small size, which therefore are named in the characters of the genus; but after search I was not able to find them. The colour seems to vary from a decided blue to dark, with little perceptible of the former colour; and it would also appear, if we are to be guided by the description given by Pennant, that some variation may also take place in the form of the tail; which he describes as passing straight backward, which was not the case in the example I have described. li gigiy 21S VAUAUOd 41 LAMNA. Tue snout comeal; body disposed to a rounded form, with a promi- nent ridge at the side near the tail; gill openings wide. Teeth long and pointed, with a process on each side near the root. An anal fin, PORBEAGLE. Squalus cornubicus, Turton’s Linneus. Lamna cornuhicus, CUuVIER. Isurus oxyrhyncus, RaFINESQUE; but his figure 1s exceed- ingly bad. The genus Iswrus was founded by Rafinesque, but his de- finition that the lobes of the tail are equal, must not be taken literally. 4 cornubicus, Gray; Catalogue of British Museum. Longnez. LACEPEDE AND Risso. Lamna cornubica, Fieminc; Br. An., p. 168. Jenyns; Manual, p. 500. YARRELL; British Fishes, vol. ti, p. 515, Donovan, pl. 108, but the figure is not satisfactory. In this place it is proper we should notice a fish, which has borne the name of the Beaumaris Shark, from the place in North Wales where it was first taken; and concerning which much doubt has existed among naturalists, as to whether it is a distinct species or a variety of the Common Porbeagle, to which description represents it as bearing a general resemblance. Cuvier regarded it as a separate species; but his authority is of less weight, as he never possessed the opportunity of ex- amining a specimen. Mr. Yarrell, also, in the first edition of his ‘History of British Fishes,” has given it as different from the Porbeagle; but in the second edition of that work, he has VOL. I. G 42 PORBEAGLE placed them together, and ‘he assigns as his reason for this change of opinion, that he had had opportunities of examining four examples, which had been taken on different parts of the coast since 1837—the date of the publication of the first edition of his work—and which has induced him to believe that the differences observed between them and the more frequent forms, are only the effects of greater age. Something like this I have myself noticed; for in the largest Porbeagle I have ever seen, and which measured almost nine feet in length, the snout appeared much smaller than in appa- rently much younger examples; and the first dorsal fin appeared, even by measurement, nearer to the tail than is usual in the Porbeagle. The lateral ridge was carried along so high on the side, as to be nearly level with the flattened surface of the back, near the setting on of the tail; from which position it was bent down suddenly to pass along its usual situation on the tail, in the manner represented in Donovan’s plate 108. The two divisions of the tail were nearly equal; and so dif- ferent was the appearance of this fish from that of the smaller and more common examples of the Porbeagle, as to leave the impression that it was specifically distinct; until a further examination removed all doubt on the subject. This fish is not noticed in the tenth edition of Linnzus’s System, having probably been confounded, as were several others, with the White Shark; until it was distinguished from the latter by Dr. Borlase, in his ‘Natural History of Cornwall.” One of the first of the two examples of the Beaumaris Shark, as described by Pennant, was a female, and contained young ones within it, which, however, were only two in number; a circumstance which would lead us to suppose that it is a scanty breeder. But it is to be regretted that those young ones were not more closely examined and described; as from them we might have been able to collect more clearly the proof of their being either of a new or a well-known and recognised species. The Porbeagle is a common visitor on the western coasts iu summer, and not unfrequently it wanders along the eastern borders of England, and even of Scotland. An instance has been known of its having been taken even in Orkney. It usually proceeds in small scattered companies, preying on PORBEAGLE. 43 pilchards and herrings, and other small fishes that then abound. Risso represents it as swift and eager after prey, and certainly it is not less fierce than other Sharks; and I have been in- formed of an instance, where in the prospect of being taken, it sprung at a fisherman, and tore a piece out of his clothing. The teeth, which present a formidable array of spears, are less formed for cutting than for seizing and holding its prey; which therefore it appears to swallow whole. I have found the remains of cartilaginous fishes and cuttles (Sepie) in their stomachs; and in one instance full-grown hakes. According to Risso it is an article of food in the Mediter- ranean, and he goes so far as to say that as such it is much esteemed. This is a piece of luxury to which our fishermen and the public have not yet attained; and consequently with us it is only employed as manure. The spiral valve in the entrails of this fish is strongly marked. The example described was four feet in length, and two feet in circumference just before the pectoral fins; the appearance, therefore, solid and heavy, and explaining the meaning of its name—the hog-hound. ‘The snout prominent and round, thickly covered with small apertures; the nostrils single, small, and not lobed; mouth large, armed with rows of sharp prominent teeth, each tooth with a smaller process at the root on each side, the rows of teeth varying according to size, but in the fish described only two uncovered. Eye prominent, no spir- acle; the gill openings reaching up the side of the body, their extent increasing from the first anteriorly. Body round, depressed nearer the tail, with a notch above and below at the root of that organ, a prominent ridge at the side of the body near the tail, and a slight one below it on the tail itself. First dorsal fin elevated, and triangular; the second dorsal and anal small and opposite each other; upper lobe of the tail without a notch in some examples; but it extends beyond the lower, contrary to the definition of Rafinesque. The skin slightly rough. Colour black on the back and fins, lighter on the sides, and white below. I have been informed of an example that weighed eight hundred pounds, and another of large size will presently be described. ‘This latter had the remarkable singularity of being much disfigured by a large lobulated cancerous tumour in its 44 PORBEAGLE. mouth, which also had eaten away the upper lip on the right side, and which, occupying the roof of the mouth, had passed down the gullet towards the stomach. ‘This disease bore a near resemblance to the cancer in the higher race of animals, and appears to have arisen spontaneously. A more lengthened degree of suffering was happily cut short by its becoming entangled in a fishing-net, from which it was not able to deliver itself. {.—Largest Tooth of Porbeagle, (natural size.) 2.— Upper teeth. 3.—One ramus of the jaw. XI ‘ONNOA GNV UACOL 45 GALEUS. Tue form of the body tapering; spiracles or temporal orifices behind the eyes; the gill openings moderate; an anal fin. Teeth sharp. TOPER. WHITE HOUND. PENNY DOG, the young ones called MILLER poc, from their light grey appearance. Squalus Galeus, ARTEDI anD Linyaus. Galeus Aristotelis, JONSTON; p. 25. Canis Galeus, WitLovcuBy; p. 51, tab. b. 6, but the tail is badly expressed. Galeus vulgaris, Fiemine; Br. An., p. 165. £6 s Jenyns; Manual, p. 501. YaRRELL; British Fishes, vol. ii, p. 509. Squale Milandre, LacereDE. Risso; Ichthy., p. 32. “e “es THis is a common and rapacious fish, devouring any living thing it is able to overcome; but it appears to swim lower in the water than the Blue Shark and Porbeagle, as few complaints are heard of the injury it inflicts on the fishermen’s nets. The young are produced in summer, and I have found them well developed so early as in May. The whole brood is usually produced at one birth; although I have occasionally met with an instance where a few eggs have been ready to take the place of a large number that were ready for exclusion. On examining a large female, I found twenty-one young ones, all of one size, about a foot in length; ten in one receptacle, and eleven in the other. The egg attached to each young one, and not yet absorbed, was scarcely an inch in diameter, pear-shaped, with a funis about six inches in length. The largest number of VOL, I. H 46 TOPER. young I have met with was thirty-two, but fifty-two have been found. They remain near us in the winter, for I have met with them in January; being then about twenty inches in length, with three rows of teeth; the outer or oldest row of which had only one notch on its edge. At this time the older fishes have left the coast, and perhaps have retired to deeper waters. Among ourselves this fish is little regarded as food; but Willoughby found it exposed for sale in the market at Rome; and fishermen inform me that French people freely purchase it for the same purpose. It grows to the length of six feet, but is not often found of that size. ‘The shape is somewhat round and slender, especially towards the tail. The snout depressed and lengthened, and diaphanous towards the borders; m fish of full size a narrow fold of skin passes over the eye, but I have not observed it in the young examples. Spiracles small and near the eye. Nostrils small, near the border, and not lobed; mouth far be- neath; teeth triangular, serrated on the posterior or inner edge only; their position alternate in the rows. Gill openings above the origin of the pectoral fins. The first dorsal fin nearer the head than the tail, the second opposite the anal, the pectorals wide near their origin. Upper lobe of the tail notched. Colour a dark ash above, white below. The eye is oval, and the tablet on which the globe of the eye is placed in most, if not all the Sharks, as already mentioned, is less elevated or clearly marked than in the other species with which I am acquainted. There are also some other particulars connected with the eye of this fish, which appear to imply different powers of vision from those of other species of Sharks. The outer coat or capsule of the eye-ball is firm, but it becomes thinner and more yielding at the transparent cornea; which, consequently, when pressed by the director muscles, must become more convex; as we also find in some birds, which thus possess the faculty of adjusting vision to different degrees of distance. The pupil is very small. A nictitant membrane, formed of a doubling of the eyelid, is capable of being raised from the inner angle of the eye, to cover two thirds of the eye-ball. a 7, =] © bet — xX SMOOTH 47 MUSTELUS. Tuis genus resembles Galeus in the shape of the body and the pos- session of spiracles; but in addition the teeth are absolutely flat, without points. SMOOTH HOUND. RAY-MOUTHED DOG. SKATE-TOOTHED SHARK. Squalus mustelus, LINN EUS. Mustelus levis, JONSTON, p. 26. WutLovGuBy, p. 60 Wale, so; s oS Cuvier. Fremine’s Br. An., p. 166. ss > = <<>> =< , . 0 Al ‘ * ¥ ’ CUCKOO RAY. XXVII CUOKOO RAY. Ps each side of this middle space, and a great many smaller spines are scattered on the border. Some spines also near the border of the pectoral fins. The colour pale yellow, and on each side of the disk a well-marked spot of the size of a half-crown; the ground of which black, with defined bright yellow lines or patches. In another example I found even the fins on the _ tail covered with a roughness, arising from fine granular spines. The larger spines also were of a fine texture, with a tendency to radiation at their base. A larger specimen, measuring a little more than three fect in length, and which was a female, resembled the above description in most of the particulars, but bore no mark. of the beauty-spots on the disk; the tail also was less furnished with prickles on its sides; and, instead of a triangular bed of spines near the head, as in the others, there was one short line of spines, with a single spine on each side of it. Colour of the surface uniformly ash. The species here described makes a near approach to that which is represented in Mr. Yarrell’s ‘History of British Fishes,” vol. 11, page 574, under the name of R. radula; but in some particulars the latter differs essentially, as we shall shew when we describe the true Sandy Ray of Cornish fishermen. But it makes even a nearer approach to the species known as the Shagreen Ray; and in the absence of the conspicuous spots on the disk, which, from our description of the large female example, appears to be sometimes the case, there appears to be no way of distinguishing between - them, than by the texture of the skin and form of the spines; the former being covered with an uniform blunt roughness, while in the latter the surface is studded with elevated sharp prickles. The spines on the tail also, are, in the Cuckoo Ray, longer and more slender. This fish is usually found in sheltered bays, and, although of rather small size, it is esteemed as food. The eggs are deposited in December, yet in July I have seen it with eggs, some of which seemed almost ready to be shed. VOL. I. R 114 CUCKOO RAY. Uy i) Yj, iit HT TT Heil" i at } Og i MPL Dey TO a NED DSF AL AL LL 4 ae S CUCKOO RAY—MALE, SANDY RAY. OWl. Raia circularis, Loupon; Magazine of Natural History, new series, vol. ii. Coucu; Cornish Fauna, p. 53. se se I can® scarcely refer to Mr. Yarrell’s figure for this species, as it bears some characters which I am not able to identify. The Sandy Ray is a common species, at least in the west of England, but it is more rarely caught in the winter, perhaps because fishermen do not go at that season to the places it frequents, which are in deep water at a considerable distance from land. It is probable also that it changes its quarters according to the season, for the earliest I have known in the spring have been found at twelve leagues from land. It is disregarded as food, for which the season assigned is, that it does not readily receive the salt for preservation. The example selected for description measured three feet eight inches in length, of which the tail was nineteen inches; in breadth two feet four inches and a half; projection of the snout three fourths of an inch. The mouth distant from the snout six inches, three inches and a half wide; under jaw peaked in the middle; the teeth slender, sharp, in rows not closely placed; nostrils lobed. Anterior margin of the disk slightly waved, and assuming a circular form, especially rounded off at its greatest breadth, which is at about the middle of the disk. From the snout the ridge is elevated to the eyes, a distance of five inches and a quarter; the eyes two inches apart; spiracles large. ‘The body is thickest posteriorly; tail stout at its origin, rounded above, and tapering; a groove along the body and tail; two fins on the latter, close together. 116 SANDY RAY. A few spines near the end of the snout, a line of them behind each eye, five short parallel rows on the middle of the back, the middle row continued obscurely along the groove to the tail, which is covered with stout hooks, scarcely in regular lines; the rest of the body smooth. Colour above an uniform reddish brown, white below. On the disk a variable number of oscellated spots, the size of the section of a large pea; the centre yellow, the border a deeper impression of the colour of the ground. I have counted eight up to sixteen of tiese spots in different examples, and believe they have no certain.number, but they are always situated on each side of the disk in corresponding regularity. I have never found them absent, nor have I ever found the remarkable beauty-spot, which is so common on several species of this family, and forms so conspicuous an ornament on the Cuckoo Ray, on this fish. . i 1 Aaa tite OT aay a y 4 ¥ aL Tt Oy Ne ME ie a i i" tr Ne SHAGREEN RAY XX1X Dey SHAGREEN RAY. ROUGH FLAPPER. FRENCH RAY. DUN COW. Raia aspera nostras, WILLOUGHBY; p. 78. « fullonica, Linna&us. YARRELL; Br. Fishes, vol. iL, p.-578. “ aspera, Fiemine; Br. Animals, p. 172. “ chagrinea, Jenyns; Manual, p. 513. ‘THIS species appears to be more frequently taken on the coasts of Scotland than on the south or west portions of the British Islands; but it has been obtained in Ireland; and in Devon- shire. Mr. William Thompson informs me of its occurrence at Weymouth, and our figure is from an example caught on the south coast of Cornwall; but in the last-named districts it is of rare occurrence. Its peculiar habits, as distinguished from those of other Rays, appear to have been little noticed; but we believe it will be found that the rarer species of this tribe are not more frequently caught, arises from the fact, that the usual baits of fishermen are not suited to their appetite. The snout of this fish projects considerably, and the outline is waved as it proceeds to the extremities of the pectoral fins; the greatest breadth being behind the middle of the disk. The ventral fins are rather narrow; the tail stout and tapering, with two dorsal fins close together near its termination. Eyes rather large, as are the spiracles close behind them. The skin is covered with granulations, which differ greatly from the spines or prickles which sometimes cover the skin of the Thornback Ray or Cuckoo Ray. Our example being a male is better armed with spines than the female may be supposed to be. A row encircles each eye; a lengthened bed of them is on the disk near the widest expansion of the pectoral fins; a line of spines more obscurely VOL. I. S 118 SHAGREEN RAY. situated at the origin of the back; and a double row of stout spines, with recurved points, runs from about the origin of the ventral fins along the tail to the dorsal fins; in the example described, to the second dorsal. ‘These lines of spines are sepa- rate at first, and the surface rounded between them, but they become closer as they proceed. In a female there was the absence of the bed of spines near the borders of the pectorals; but there was a superior amount of roughness at those parts, and from the snout along the anterior border. In the Cuckoo Ray the skin is generally smooth, and the bed of spines behind the head triangular; the spines also being more sharp and slender than in the Shagreen Ray. ‘The ornamental spots so conspicuous in the Cuckoo Ray are also absent. In a communication from the Rev. Walter Gregor, of Mac- duff, on the Moray Firth, he informs me that he has only seen one example of the Shagreen Ray in that neighbourhood; which was caught with a line at the depth of thirty fathoms, in the month of February. ‘The total length was two feet eight inches and a half, of which the tail was one foot five inches. The breadth was one foot two inches and a half. When on the beach it threw up its snout and tail almost perpendicularly, at the same time lifting also the pectoral fins. f vee oA? Gl Tint Ref, Leet il i t i 119 TORPEDO. Tae disk in shape approaches to the circular form, and is plump and soft; the anterior border, unlike other Rays, formed of two slight advances in front, with a small retraction between them. The caudal portion short and stout, ending in a fin which has a lobe below and above. The plump space between the head branchiw and pectoral fins is occupied by the electrical apparatus; the nature of which has rendered this genus of fishes famous. The surface is smooth; two dorsal fins. TORPEDO. CRAMP RAY. TURPAENA. NUMBFISH. ELECTRIC RAY. WHEREVER this fish has been found it could not fail to attract attention, by the experience it compelled its observers to obtain of the wonderful faculty which it possesses of affecting with numbness those who handle it—a circumstance which in ancient times must have appeared among the most unaccountable, as it still is among the most surprising occurrences of nature. We find accordingly that the Torpedo and its properties are mentioned by the earliest philosophers whose writings have been preserved; and from them, or popular knowledge, it obtained a name which shews that the nature of its influence had been not obscurely felt. It was from the first called Narké, and, says Oppian,— “Is rightly named from numbing pain;” and how generally this knowledge of its powers was spread abroad appears from a declaration of A‘lian, B. 9, C. 14; who tells us that he received the account of its properties from his mother, whilst yet a child. In the year 1774, Sir John Pringle selected this as an appropriate subject for an oration on the occasion of delivering the Copley Medal to Mr. Walsh, in acknowledgment of that 120 TORPEDO. gentleman’s experiments on the vital properties of this fish; and we shall be indebted to his narrative and explanation for a large portion of what we shall relate of its early history; but with a larger reference to several other authors who have treated upon it. The first writer mentioned by Pringle is Hippocrates, who, however, only notices it as an article of food; although, as has been justly remarked, by calling it by its significant name, it is shewn that he could not have been unacquainted with its reputation of possessing singular powers. Plato had a like general knowledge of its nature; as is proved by a com- parison he causes Menon to make, of his master Socrates to this fish. Aristotle, whose study of nature had drawn him further than any other into an acquaintance with the habits of living beings, and the services their properties secured to themselves, informs us of its habit of lying hid, and employing its peculiar powers for the purpose of benumbing such fishes as might wander near it, and thus satisfying the cravings of appetite. It is probable, from his well-known disposition to inquire into the nature of whatever of interest might fall in his way, that himself had examined this fish, although perhaps only after death; and he must have felt assured from his inquiries, that it truly possessed the properties ascribed to it; for he remarks as something worthy of notice, that so active a fish as the Mullet had been found in the stomach of so sluggish a creature as the Narké. But this eminent philosopher does not appear to have known, or perhaps fully credited, some of the particular facts reported of it; and it was his successor, ‘Theophrastus, who ascertained that the fish was able, when touched by a rod or staff, to diffuse its influence to an object at some distance from itself. This we learn from Atheneus, who informs us also that Diphilius, of Laodicea, discovered the important fact, doubted by others, that the powers of the creature proceeded only from a limited portion of its body; to which Hero of Alexandria added the observation that metals were capable of conveying the influence in the same manner as a rod or staff. Plutarch should be mentioned next to Hero, since, although probably he did not originally discover it, he is the first to mention the circumstance—that the numbing influence had been known to pass through a net to the arms of the fisherman; and he affirms, what is more fully mentioned by Ahan and other writers, TORPEDO. 121 that if a living fish be placed in a vessel of sea-water, a stream of that water poured on the hand or foot will convey the influence. Pliny, whose intention it was to bring into a small and convenient compass the whole of the current knowledge of his age, several times mentions the properties of this fish; which, as commander of the Roman fleet on the coast of Italy, he must have seen; but the chief part of what he has handed down to us is copied from other writers. He says, it is to be classed among the cartilaginous fishes, and in its habits shews a consciousness of its peculiar powers; although these powers do not exert an influence on its own body. During the winter it lies hid in some depression at the bottom of the sea, and at other times conceals itself in a soft and muddy place, where it awaits the approach of any fish, which it strikes with the shock when it is off its guard, and then immediately darts upon and seizes it. In addition to what others have said of the numbing influence passing to a distance through a rod or staff, and of inflicting deadness on the most vigorous arm, he adds, that it is able to rivet to the ground the feet of any one, however otherwise active in the race. He goes on to state, that the female produces fourscore young ones at a birth, at the (we suppose autumnal) equinox; and from the manner in which he speaks of the eggs, it would appear that he believed the young to be produced alive: a circumstance in which later observation shews him to have been mistaken. It remained for Oppian to embody the several observations made by others in his poem on fish and fishing; a work in which we can discover the observer of nature, even when the facts related are in great part founded on the authority of more ancient writers. I will remark, however, that he mentions a circum- stance that is overlooked or misapprehended by his poetical translator; but which is important as shewing his knowledge of the fact, that the torporific power was seated in a particular part of its body:— “The Crampfish, when the (hook’s dread) pain alarms, Exerts his conscious skill and powerful arms, Applies his loins, and bids the line receive The numbing force it is his will to give. ~ The flowing influénce its volume rears, Rolls up the slender length of slippery hairs, 122 TORPEDO. Then down the rod with easy motion glides, And entering in the fisher’s hand subsides. On every joint an icy stiffness steals, The flowing spirits binds, and blood congeals. In vain he tries to grasp the sinking rod, And all his fishing-tackle strews the coe ‘ Bic) At a time when sea and land were ransacked for remedies to cure the various diseases that flesh is heir to, it would have been surprising if the wonderful powers of this fish had not been resorted to; but as a very large proportion of the medical practice of that age was in the hands of those who held them- selves out to the public as magicians, and, to use the language of the present day, were at least irregular practitioners of the art of medicine; with whom things the most strange and unaccountable in their effects were thought the most highly of, there is some reason to suppose that the first attempts to turn this energy to use had their origin with them. On this subject we are indebted again to Pliny for most of the information we possess; for recording which, and many others of the pre- vailing beliefs that had currency among his people, he has been severcly condemned, as if he gave credit to the whole. I am of opinion, however, that even a small amount of reflection will prove sufficient to relieve him from the general charge of credulity so commonly brought against him. At the time when the Roman empire was in its highest grandeur, the larger number of the physicians practising their profession in the city were foreigners, and chiefly from Egypt, a country which then continued to hold the highest reputation for the study of physic and the science of nature; but there does not appear to have existed there, and still less at Rome, any test by which the impudent pretender might be distin- guished from the scientific physician; and consequently the boldest assurance might well calculate on achieving the greatest success. A single cure effected on a man of eminence, however fortuitously obtained, was sufficient to bring a fortune to a physician; and the more wonderful the means employed, the greater was believed to be the skill of him who used them. The rational science of Galen or Celsus was less regarded than that laid claim to by one who could employ the secrets of magic and astrology; and where no one was able to disprove TORPEDO. 123 them on grounds which ignorant men of power and wealth could understand, to have omitted the mention of such matters in a work intended to represent the full extent of knowledge then existing in the world, would have been to render himself exposed to a reproach not less severe than, though the reverse of, that so often in modern times brought against him. But as regards many of the instances of a strange and now incredible kind to which Pliny has given a place in his work, and especially those concerning the Torpedo, he is careful to express or imply his doubts, although as a faithful copyist he feels himself bound to transcribe them. In addition then, to the information, that the local application of this fish was a remedy for some obscure disease of the spleen, we will only adduce one instance of the accepted practice of the magical physicians of that age, reported to us by this writer. It was important that this fish should be caught when the moon was in the celestial sign Libra, and that it should be kept in the open air for three days. If after this it were simply brought into the room where a woman was in a state of parturition, it would secure her speedy safety; and it would appear that it might thus be carried from one patient to another with equal success. The first physician of real abilities who directed his attention to the study of the medical properties of this fish was Galen; who prescribed the application of the living fish to cases of periodical headache with much success; and we learn also from Scribonius Largus, quoted by Matthiolus in his Commentary on Dioscorides, that a freedman of Augustus Cesar was relieved or cured of a fit of the gout by the same means. But it is not a little remarkable, and suggests some doubt of this sup- posed instance, that this case, which from the eminent station of the patient, must have been widely talked of, was not known to Pliny or Celsus; careful as the former has shewn himself to have been to collect all the information on every subject then attainable, and well acquainted, as he may be supposed also to have been, with all that was of interest connected with the court of Augustus. And how little the true nature of this remedial influence continued to be understood, appears from the writings of Paulus A‘gineta, himself a physician of emi- nence; but who knew so little of the source of this powerful 124 TORPEDO. emanation, that he gives the prescription of an application, called Torpeena from a then common name of the fish, which was to be kept ready prepared for use. It was formed by boiling the flesh of the Torpedo in oil until its whole substance was dissolved and mingled with it. That even Galen supposed the existence of some of its properties after death is rendered probable by his remark, that when used as food it rendered the body dull and stupid. For more than a thousand years such was the extent of the knowledge of nature possessed even by those who were the most intimately acquainted with its phenomena; and it was only when the properties of electricity had become the subject of experiment, that any further light was thrown on the peculiar powers of this fish. The discovery in a distant land of a fish of a very different species, but which was endued with similar faculties, had given a new impulse to inquiry; and it was then recollected that the powers of the Torpedo had never been closely studied. Redi, an Italian physician, was among the first to make remarks on the living fish, and Mr. Walsh the most successful of those who instituted experiments; and it is with a short account of these, accompanied with an abstract of the anatomical examinations of the illustrious John Hunter, as contained in the Lectures of Professor Richard Owen, that we shall close our history of these properties of the ‘Torpedo. Redi says, that in order to satisfy himself of the certainty of the things reported about this fish, he repeated his observa- tions on more than one example; but more particularly on a female of the weight of fifteen pounds, which had been caught for his use, and brought directly to him from the sea. As soon as he had grasped it with his hand, the hand and arm up to the shoulder began to suffer a creeping sensation, as if emmets were passing over it, accompanied with a trembling so irksome, and increasing to such sharp and tormenting pain at the point of the elbow, that he was compelled to remove his hand from the fish; and when he again attempted to grasp it the painful sensations returned. He remarked, however, that as the vital powers of the fish decreased, its power of inflicting: pain and trembling also grew less. This fish continued alive for three hours, and on dissection its heart was found to beat for seven hours afterwards; but TORPEDO. 125 he remarked that after death no other sensation proceeded from it than might come from any other fish. Redi made the trial of placing his hand in the water in which the fish lay, but without feeling any inconvenience; as might be expected if the fish were not irritated. This author detected the existence of what we now know to be the electric organs; but he failed to understand their mode of operation, and supposed the columns to be of the nature of muscles. The operations of Mr. Walsh were conducted under more favourable circumstances, in consequence of the discoveries that had been lately made in the science of electricity. The substance of them was, that the fish possessed the power of accumulating in its electrical organs a considerable amount of that fluid, much in the same manner as it is accumulated in the instrument called the Leyden phial; so that while one of its surfaces, the back, was in the positive condition, the belly was negative; and the equilibrium could be restored by the inter- position of water, metals, or the human body. Besides the degree of pain and numbness inflicted by this voluntary discharge on the part of the fish, under the influence of its will or passion, its violence can be judged by what is reported by Lacepede: that a duck was presently killed by being exposed to the shock. In Mr. Walsh’s experiment a Torpedo was laid on a table, where it rested on a wet napkin. Five persons, insulated, or separated from any connection with a conducting substance, stood round another table; and two brass wires, each thirteen feet long, were suspended by silk strings from the ceiling of the room. One of these wires rested by one of its ends on the wet napkin, and the other end was immersed in a basin of water placed on a second table; on which stood four other basins, also full of water. ‘The first person placed a finger of one of his hands in the water in which the wire was immersed, and a finger of his other hand in the second basin; and so on successively until all the five persons were brought into com- munication with one another by means of the water in the basins. One end of the second wire was dipped into the last basin of water, and with the other end Mr. Walsh pressed the back of the fish; at which instant the whole of the five persons were affected with the shock. Nothing could have been more decisive, even if the electric machine had been itself employed. VOR I, . 126 TORPEDO. These electric organs are two-fold, and one of them is lodged on each side of the head and gills. They are formed of very numerous perpendicular pyramids, the ends of which are covered by the integuments clothing the back and under part of the body. Each column appears like a mass of clear jelly, but on close examination it is seen to be formed of membranous plates, fastened at their margins to a case or capsule; and each one separated from the next by a small quantity of albuminous fluid. Each cell thus formed has its own separate lining, and the covering which encloses the whole forms the seat on which the blood-vessels and nerves, supplying this organ with their special fluids, are spread abroad, before they enter to execute their specific functions. The blood conveyed thither is of the purest kind, and the nerves are such as are well fitted to convey a very large supply of their proper influence; the first four of them being as large as the spinal cord itself, from which all the other functions of animal life are bestowed on the body. As no other special function resides in the pectoral fins, and the general perceptions of the Torpedo are dull and inactive, it is to be concluded that these nerves supplying the electric organs are formed thus large, for the sole purpose of conveying the required energy from the nervous centre, where it is prepared, to the mass of cells; the proper function of which is to accumulate and retain it, until the instinctive feeling of the fish shall cause it to be discharged, either as a weapon of defence, or to supply its need, in the disabling and capture of its prey. The ancients possessed but little discrimination in detecting the smaller differences which mark’ the distinction between nearly allied species of any kind of creatures; and they were further prevented from assigning to those differences any important value from the general opinion of philosophers, that variations from a known type of form were to be ascribed to a kind of bastardy, arising from the indiscriminate conjunction of the sexes of kindred kinds. It is in modern times only that the last-named supposition has been judged unsound; and we owe it to naturalists of late date that we are able to assign what is known of the variations of the Torpedo, as it is found in the seas of Europe, to two separate species, with the pro- bability that there may also be a third. TORPEDO. 127 At first the attempt to apportion to those supposed species their true distinctive characters was built upon an attention to the remarkable spots, usually five in number, which are often placed in regular order on the surface of the disk; the absence or orderly arrangement of which was supposed to constitute the definite mark of a species. But it has been found by observation that in fishes in other respects closely resembling each other, these spots, as well as the general colour of the surface, are exceedingly lable to vary; and that in many cases, and especially in those found on our own coasts, they are usually found wanting; and it is further said that they commonly do not occur in young examples. More extended inquiry may shew that when they occur these spots are more frequent in one species than another, or that when present their arrange- ment may be specific; but these particulars, so far as they are now known, are attended with so much uncertainty that, setting all others aside, I shall confine myself to a single one, which, in our present state of knowledge, appears the least lable to uncertainty; and according to which I form the following arrangement or references :— Cramp Ray, with a fringed border to the spiracles, the fringes described as from six to ten in number. Torpedo narke, CuviER. fs vulgaris, Jonston; Tab. 9, f. 3, 5, 6. se § WILLouGHBY; as described. se ¢ Buocu; pl. 122. Donovan; pl. 53. se cS Risso; pl. 3, f.4and 5. T. marmorata and T. Galvani. Torpille vulgaire. ce se Fiemine; Br. An., p. 169. ue os JeNyns; Manual, p. 509. U ci: YaRRELL; Br. Fishes, vol. ii, p. 543. Raie Torpille, LacEPEDE; who speaks of it as having sometimes a fringed border to the spiracle, as if this were liable to uncertainty. Cramp Ray with plain spiracles. Torpedo Galvanii, Cuvier. Jonston; Tab. 9, f. 4. ee & Witioucusy; T. D. 4. The tail badly represented. 128 TORPEDO. Torpedo Galvani, Risso; pl. 3, f.3. Une tache. T. uni- maculata. as nobiliana, YARRELL; vol. ii, p. 546. Walsh’s ex- periments were made on this species. Although the figures of these fishes in books of Natural History are in general sufficiently characteristic, there have usually been defects, the cause of which may properly form a portion of their history. It is only for a short time after the fish has been taken from the water that the disk preserves its shape and dimensions. Soon after death a shrinking takes place on the upper surface; by which the plumpness of its appearance is diminished, and the borders become contracted; so that the lower surface gradually curls upward, and occupies the margin to the extent of several inches. But if it happen that the body has been placed in a position by which its parts have sustained a strain, the proportions become stretched into an unnatural shape, much unlike that which it bore when alive. Risso’s figures appear to have been drawn from examples which had been thus dealt with; and although boasted of by him, are by far the worst anywhere to be found. The particular changes thus referred to are noticed by Mr. Dillwyn, in his ‘Fauna of Swansea:” — ‘When alive the length was found to be forty-one inches and a half, the greatest breadth twenty-nine inches and a half; the breadth of the caudal fin at its extremity nine inches, and the weight above forty-four or forty-five pounds. On the following day it measured forty-two inches by thirty, and it then weighed forty-three pounds and a half. In stuffing the specimen the length, to my surprise, has considerably increased, though the other dimensions remained nearly unchanged, and now the extreme length is forty-nine inches; the upper lobe twenty-four inches, the lower lobe ten inches and a half, the tail eight inches and a half, and the caudal fin six inches long. The breadth or greatest diameter of the upper lobe is thirty inches, and of the lower lobe fifteen inches, and the caudal fin has contracted at its extremity to be only eight inches broad.” Our description is from an example taken in a trawl a little on the outside of the Breakwater in Plymouth Sound. The length two feet six inches; form of the disk nearly circular; TORPEDO. 129 the front almost straight, except that it slightly recedes at the place where the snout is usually found slightly projecting in the family of Rays; and a small projection is to be discerned at the border opposite each eye. ‘The thickness and plumpness of the body extend to near the circumference. The eyes small, and embedded in the surface, so that the sight appears directed upward; but they do not strictly answer to each other. Spi- racles oval, simple, a corner directed obliquely forward. The right ventral fin passing a little further back than the left; side of the caudal portion having a ridge. ‘The first dorsal fin at the part where the caudal portion joins the disk, at the end of the ventrals; second dorsal a little behind the first, and smaller. ‘Tail with a lobe below and above, the edge of the lower portion passing a little further forward than the upper. The mouth small, arched, the teeth sharp, and moveable, from the loose condition of the membrane on which they are placed; the jaw-bone slight and feeble. Nostrils nearer the sides of the mouth than in the Rays generally; connected to each other by a loose fimbriated curtain, which has a deeper notch in the middle. Colour dark brown, with a tinge of blackish purple; a lighter brown margin round the eyes. It was a female. Examples of this fish have been obtained in different parts of England and Ireland; and we may suppose it is only because fishermen do not often resort to the slimy and unproductive places it frequents, that it is not much more frequently caught. Five were noticed in one year in the Mount’s Bay, in Corn- wall; two or three came under the observation of William P. Cocks, Esq., of Falmouth; and an example was obtained at Weymouth, by William Thompson, Esq. A specimen has been seen that weighed a hundred pounds; but it is to be remarked that the spots which were so conspicuous in these fishes in the Mediterranean, have not been noticed with us. A snout, how- ever, was discernible in one or two, at least, which were obtained in the Mount’s Bay. Torpedo’s Teeth, enlarged size. t=) 150 TRYGON. Tue head enclosed on the sides by the pectoral fins; the body ele- vated; tail slender, without a fin, armed with a long spine, which is serrated on the edges. S LUNG ava FIRE FLAIRE. TRYGON. Pastinaca marina, JONSTON; p. 32. cc ge WitLoucusy; p. 67, pl. C. 3. Raia Pastinaca, Linnzus; Donovan; pl. 99. u te Buiocn; pl. 82. Jenyns; Manual, p. 518. Raie Pastenaque, LacrreDE. Russo; p. 10. Trygon Pastinacea, Freminc; Br. Animals, p. 170. Cuvier. ‘“ 66 YarrewL; Br. Fishes, vol. ii, p. 588. 2 ce Gray; Catalogue Br. Museum, p. 118. THE ancients were well acquainted with this fish, and had an extravagant dread of what they supposed the poisonous effects of a wound inflicted by the dart on its tail. There is no doubt that this may be the cause of considerable injury when dashed about in all directions, by the vibration of the tail of an angry fish; and it is not improbable that a formi- dable inflammation would follow; and even that an attack of tetanus or lock-jaw has been produced in a constitution of body already prepared for such consequences. Such a superstition is countenanced by what Matthiolus says, in his “Commentaries on Dioscorides,’” of instances where death from the wound has been attended with convulsions and contractions of the whole body. He also quotes Altius as saying that such wounds are soon followed with severe pains and deadness, which spread over the whole body. It is, therefore, with some truth that WB WRCC’ XXXI STING RAY. (st Pliny remarks how much the poisonous effects of such an injury are to be dreaded. But the ancients had not learned to distinguish between those effects of an injury, which for the most arise from diseased influences existing in the person who suffered, and those pro- duced by a poison inserted into a wound from the instrument inflicting it. The bite of the adder is of the latter kind; but observation has not confirmed the opinion formerly so widely spread, of the poison communicated by the dart of the Sting Ray; the injury from which is more properly ascribed to the jagged nature of the wound scattered over a broad surface of the skin. The firmness of the structure of this dart forms also a material portion of its powers; for the numerous points along its sides are in a reversed direction; so that when it has pene- trated the flesh it cannot be withdrawn without the enlargement of the wound. A narrative given by Atlan will shew some of its formidable effects from this cause, and also afford another explanation of the greater terror felt concerning it, where the people were generally ignorant of natural phenomena. A man had con- trived to filch away from the net of a fisherman a Sting Ray, which he had mistaken for a Turbot; and which he hastened to sell in the market. It was concealed under his clothes; and feeling some uneasiness in the part of his body where the fish lay, he pressed it so much the closer. The story appears to shew that in his haste he fell to the ground, by which accident the dart was driven into his body; for he was found dead, with the dart piercing to his bowels, which protruded through the wound; and by this circumstance, in the opinion of the people, the fatal nature of this instrument became still more positively confirmed. We need not feel surprised at finding poetry and romance uniting their powers to spread abroad the opinions and feelings thus existing in the public mind; and accordingly the brief notices recorded by Pliny are thus expanded in the poetry of Oppian; in his account of which he unites the Sword Fish with the Sting Ray :— The Fireflair’s tail its venom’d shaft contains;— Nor time, nor waste the poisonous treasure drains. 132 SENG RAN Murderous alike they ravage all the sea, First give the mortal wound, then seize the prey. In this they differ; when the Sword Fish dies, Extinct with him the mouldering weapon hes. Not so the Fireflair’s dart; that still survives The dying fish, and in its venom lives. None equal that the Ray-like Fireflair bears; No dreaded stroke, no killing wound like hers. All things must yield; the dire infection’s such, The solid flint would moulder at the touch. When rising shrubs their spreading branches shoot, Pride in their leaves, or joy in ripening fruit, If with the Fireflair’s spear the hand unkind But grate the root, or prick the tender rind, The leaves shrink in and all the glories fade, Rich sap no more is through the pipes convey’d; No kind supplies flow round the porous stem, Cast a bright green and swell the smiling gem, But killing juices all the fibres taint, And tarnish’d verdure tells the fatal want. Elian says that such a wound was beyond the reach of remedy; but we find it prescribed for, and even with remedies that could have possessed but little of the powers of healing. And with all the fear which existed concerning it, it appears surprising that there were people bold enough to employ it for the purpose of enabling children to cut their teeth the more easily. When reduced to powder it was believed also to have’ the power of relieving the tooth-ache, and of finally causing decaying teeth to drop from their sockets. Nor, with some explanation, is this last prescription so entirely useless as at first sight might appear. ‘The powder was mixed with that of white hellebore; and if medical writers of no mean credit are to be believed, this vegetable preparation is really possessed of the virtues ascribed to this composition; and it was a popular empiric application in the middle ages. The Sting Ray is not a common fish in England; but it is scarce rather than rare; and mostly perhaps because the swampy places it frequents are not usually resorted to by fishermen; besides which it does not often take a bait. It has been supposed that the dart is of some use in obtaining its food, which appears to be small fish. By some, especially in remote times, this fish has been commended for the table; but Risso speaks unfavourably of it. The length of the specimen described was thirty-one inches and a half, the tail measuring sixteen inches; the greatest breadth STING RAY. 133 nineteen inches; the snout short, thin, and a little turned up; from it to the eye three inches and a half; the eye rather small, and prominent; spiracles large, and passing forward under the eye. At about the middle of the body it is much raised, and from that part it slopes both forwards and behind; the widest part at about six inches and a half from the snout, and consequently before the middle; ventral fins nearly square pos- teriorly. ‘The tail thick and round from its origin to the place ‘of the spine, and from thence slender. Root of the spine five inches and a half from the origin of the tail; the spine five inches long, lying lengthwise; moderately sharp, grooved in several lines, with a keel below, armed along each side with a close-placed row of reversed points. A deep depression along the middle of the back of the tail from its origin up- wards—there obsolete; two others on each side of the root of the spine, passing up to the cross bones not far behind the eyes; which lines, although fainter than the middle line below, are more strongly marked above. The skin smooth; mouth and teeth small. In one example the general colour was a dark red, in another dusky yellow. It is a wise provision in the economy of nature, that when the dart has become blunted or otherwise useless, provision is made for its being restored, by a loosening of its root of attachment, when it drops off, and is replaced by a new one. Whether this is done periodically, or at irregular intervals, is not known; but it sometimes happens that the newly-formed spear is well advanced in growth before its predecessor is thrown off, and an instance of this sort enables us to remark that both had their origin from the same root or gland. The older spear was the longer, being seven inches long in a fish the extreme length of which was three feet, hanging rather loosely; while the new, which protruded under the other, closely adhered for half an inch, and was of softer consistence near its root. Professor Owen refers to Agassiz, as pointing out the close resemblance of the microscopic structure of the bone of this spine or dart, and the dentine of the teeth of the same fishes; they are both hardened by an outer layer of modified dentine, but as hard as enamel. Mr. Dillwyn (Fauna of Swansea,) mentions an instance of the occurrence of two spines in a Sting Ray caught near VOL. I. U 134 STING RAY. Swansea; and supposed it, therefore, to constitute the R. altavela of Linneus. But it is probable that he quoted from memory; and the much rarer R. altavela is distinguished by not having a fin on the tail. It has never been found in England. Sting Ray, shewing the raised part of the body. MYLIOBATIS. Tue head projecting beyond the attachment of the pectoral fins; the latter spreading wider than in other kinds of Rays. Jaws with broad flat teeth. Tail long and slender, bearing a single dorsal fin, and armed with a spine. EAGLE RAY. TOAD-FISH. SEA EAGLE. It was called the Eagle in ancient times, because of its widely-spread pectoral fins resembling wings, and its great magnitude when of full size; its weight being supposed to amount to several hundred pounds. It was also named Toad-fish from the appearance of its head, which slopes considerably, and its protuberant eyes on the sides of the head; conveying, therefore, the impression of the aspect of that reptile. Myliobatis aquila, JonsTon; p. 30, tab. 9, f. 9. ce OG WI.Loucnsy; p. 64, tab. c. 2. £E ee Lowe; Fishes of Madeira, tab. 15. e Gs Jenyns; Manual, p. 519. & se YaRRELL; Br. Fishes, vol. ii, p. 591. = s : CUVIER. Raia aquila, LInN2XUS. Raie aigle, LacEreDE AND Risso. Ir has been the general opinion of naturalists that this fish produces its young alive; but in the year 1845, Charles Wiliam Peach, Esq., then living at Fowey, in Cornwall, obtained from the master of a trawl vessel belonging to that port, a large and very curious purse that had been dredged up in his trawl, and presented it with its contents to me, and from which was extracted an undoubted example of the partially developed young of the Eagle Ray. This purse is described below, and the embryo within it appeared to be about half developed, with 156 EAGLE RAY. the ovum attached to its body; and threads or fibres projecting from the orifices of the gills; such as are known to exist in the Sharks and Rays, and indeed also in toads, frogs, and water-lizards, in the early stages of their existence; but which in the former disappear when their functions are no longer needed, considerably before they are thrust upon an indepen- dent existence. ‘The spine on the tail had not yet made its appearance. I have received by the kindness of a gentleman in Dorsetshire, another purse of the same sort, obtained on the coast of that county; a further proof that this fish is not so rare a visitor as has been supposed. Besides the above proof that this fish produces its young by means of purses instead of producing them alive, the circum- stances here related also shew that it is not merely a rare visitor to our neighbourhood; and of this also the following incident furnishes evidence; for that it refers to this species I feel no manner of doubt:—A fisherman, long and well acquainted with the fishes of the British seas, and especially with all our common sorts of the family of Rays, informed me that in the month of July, whilst at sea, his attention was attracted to a fish which was swimming close to the surface, when the sea was smooth and the weather fine. Its general appearance was that of the Ray kind, but with a particular aspect, which on closer inquiry clearly answered to that of the Eagle Ray; the eyes especially attracting his notice, as at the side of the head, and resembling those of an ox. When he approached it for examination, the boat passed over it, and in doing so inflicted a violent blow, which caused the fish to turn almost over in the water; but it presently set itself right again, and moved heavily onward. He laid hold of it with the boat-hook; but the weight, which, on comparison with the Skates, he judged to be not less than three hundred pounds, was too great for him, and he was obliged to resign the task, and he finally lost sight of it; but not by the sinking of the fish, for it continued near the surface until the boat had passed to leeward out of sight. The incident here related shews the fish to be of dull and sluggish habits; but that it is not so great a stranger as has been supposed even on the north of British coasts, appears from the fact, that an example was obtained by Dr. George Johnston, in the neighbourhood of Berwick. EAGLE RAY. Mes 474 I prefer to take our description, but im an abbreviated form, from Mr. Lowe’s unfinished work, the “Fishes of Madeira,” rather than from an imperfect specimen obtained in England; and the rather that the former was derived from an example fresh from the sea, and not from one preserved in a _ museum. The pectoral fins are widely spread, and growing narrow at their greatest extent; the back raised, and so sloping to the snout, and also towards the tail; which organ is long, slender, and ending in a fine point, with a fin near its origin, and a dart or spine having reversed serrated teeth at the sides, not far behind the fin. ‘The eyes are large and prominent, on the sides of the head, under a projection of the bone, and close behind them wide spiracles. ‘The posterior border of the pec- toral fins incurved and waved; ventrals small, and the claspers of the males so small as to be nearly concealed by these fins. Mouth below, level with the origin of the pectoral fins; the jaws with flat grinding teeth in the middle, but none at the corners of the mouth. The general surface is smooth, but there is often a roughness from the head along the back, and spreading a little over the base of the wings. The length of the tail is about twice the length of the body, and rather exceeding in its extent the whole breadth across the pectoral fins. The colour is greenish or olive liver brown; the tail dark brown, beneath white. When first taken this fish flourishes its tail in all directions; and although the tail is proportionally less than in the Sting Ray, it is capable of inflicting formidable injury. ‘The length of the purse is six inches and a half; the breadth four inches and five eighths; length of the longest tendrils about seven inches and a half, flat and thin in shape, and ending in a slender cord. The structure of the surface is curious and beautiful, differimg much from that of other known Rays; the surface thickly set with raised longitudinal lines, closely crossed with dots or raised lines; each longitudinal line being thickly studded with raised markings, points, or short lines; which, however, do not pass from one line to another, although they appear to sink into the minute channel between them. This description, however, only applies to the middle of the case; for towards the ends and sides the longitudinal lines are joined in this manner, and the reticulations form VOL: xX 1387 3 BAGLE RAYE beautiful squares, which grow finer towards the border, and disappear at the margin. Colour approaching to black. Our figure is copied from the work of Mr. Lowe, just referred to. 2.—Embryo of the Eagle Ray, taken near Fowey. 1.—Eagle Ray. 159 PTEROCEPHALA. Tue fore part of the head as if cut short, and the pectoral fins, instead of clasping it, have each of their anterior extremities extended forward, appearing as if the fish was furnished with horns. The tail slender; the spine, dorsal fin, and pectoral fins broad. Ox uA Cephaloptera Giorna, Cuvier? Jenyns; Manual, p. 519. s Masséna, Risso; Vacca? Raia Fabroniana, LACEPEDE. Horned Ray, YaRRELL; Br. Fishes, vol. ii, p. 595? the figure we must suppose, unlike anything in nature. as és Proressor F. M’ Coy; Annals and Mag. of Natural History, vol. xix, for March, 1847. Tuts remarkable form of the family of Skates and Rays attracted the forcible attention of the ancients, as well from the enormous size they have sometimes attained, (even to twelve hundredweight or more,) as- from the singular form of the front of the head, which, from its resemblance to a pair of projecting horns, gave occasion to their being characterized by the name of Bos, or the Ox. In the present day on the coast of Italy, according to Risso, they are known by the name of Vacca, or the Cow. A large example, which, whether specifically different from the smaller individuals that have come to our coasts is uncertain, was the terror of the divers for sponges and coral; for whom it was supposed to be ever on the watch with devouring propensities, and whose return from the bottom it endeavoured to intercept by assuming a station at mid-water above them, where it so molested their endeavour to ascend, as to cause their destruction; of which 140 OX RAY. proceeding the following verses of Oppian contain the popular belief, referred to also by Pliny, B. 9, C. 70:— Enwrapt in softer slime the Sea Cow dwells, Who every sea-bred kind in breadth excels. To twice six cubits stretched, their flatted sides Press down the lab’ring waves and smooth the tides. Unarmed their body, though with monstrous size And bulky form they strike the wond’ring eyes. Borne on the struggling floods that broad-backed Ray Unwieldy lolls, and takes up all the way. Few are their teeth, unfit for martial toil, Thin set, not made to seize the doubtful spoil. But schemes well laid they resolute pursue, And by superior fraud ev’n man subdue. They mark when daring mortals plunge below, Where pearls are hid and coral branches grow; Then hover o’er the place and float at ease, Stretch on the waves and shade the covered seas; With patient hope unmoy’d their station keep, Till from the secret chambers of the deep Laden with spoils the diver mounts again, Nor can the surface reach with all his pain. By wonted arts he tries himself to raise, But o’er his head th’ unwelcome pressure stays. Kept back from looked-for day, the mortal grieves, In vain the pressing lid his shoulder heaves; His weaker thrust the stubborn weight withstands, And ‘backward sinks him down to lowest sands, If he swims forward, and the surface leaves, The subtle fish the vain attempt perceives, Still hangs aloof, and o’er his pensive head The shades unwish’d their gloomy coverts spread, Till wearied arms their toilsome work refuse, But faintly strike, and catch the yielding ooze. Such is the toil when venturous divers meet The floating roof, and push the pressing weight. Stretched on the watery plain unmoved it lies, And open air and lightsome day denies, Till swallow’d waves an easy passage find, And in its latest breath life mingles with the wind. Thus, proud of her success, the spreading Ray-~ By stratagem obtains the noblest prey. iB. 2: Into what species this family of fishes may be divided appears even now to be uncertain, and British naturalists not only differ from each other, but from themselves, in_ those descriptions and accounts which seem necessary to enable us to form definite opinions on the subject. Of the few examples which have been taken in the British seas there is little cer- tainty, since they have not generally come into the hands of competent observers; and some of the engraved figures appear OX RAY. 141 to have been derived from badly-preserved, and even mutilated subjects. It appears highly probable, however, that more than one species has visited us; and, in collecting together what has been recorded concerning them, I would be considered as furnishing the reader with a summary of what is known, for future use, rather than as satisfying inquiry or advancing a decided opinion. I have not myself been able to examine and sketch more than a single example, and that a preserved skin, of these fishes, and this I believe to have been obtained from the Mediterranean; but, although with some difference, it bore so close a likeness to the example described and represented by Professor M’ Coy, in the “Annals and Maga- zine of Natural History,” already referred to, that I feel no hesitation in believing them to represent each other. Professor M’ Coy’s description is therefore here brought forward at considerable length, and his figure is chiefly depended on, although another is also produced, from the example already mentioned as sketched from nature by myself. “The specimen in question was first publicly noticed by Mr. Thompson, in a communication to the Zoological Society of London, and the particulars which he gives of its capture on the Irish coast are all I know on that point. That gentleman, however, neither described nor figured the specimen, merely noticing its general resemblance to the figure given by Risso of the Cephaloptera Giorna; subsequent writers seem to have in some measure mistaken this passage, as they make the reference to that species decisive, which, as I have stated, was not the case in the original notice. I might here suggest, that, according to the rule of priority, Dumeril’s name ( Cephaloptera) should not be retained for this genus, having been previously used by Geoffroy St. Hilaire for a genus of Coracine, formed for the reception of that remarkable bird the Coracina cephaloptera of Vieillot. It has been proposed to alter the name of the genus of fish to Pterocephala, which it would be well to adopt. “On examining this very interesting specimen, I found that although obviously a Pterocephala, it yet presented most im- portant differences from the C. Giorna, both in outline, pro- portions, shape of the fins, and form of the wing-like appendages to the head; neither does it agree with any of the European 142 OX RAY. or American species described by modern writers, so far as I have seen, but seems referable to that described many years ago, from the coast of ‘Tuscany, by Dr. Fabroni, of Florence, and figured by Lacepede under the name of Rava Fabroniana, in honour of its discoverer. ‘This species seems. to have been lost, Cuvier and most other icthyologists throwing a doubt on its existence, and supposing the figure referred to to represent a mutilated example of the common C. Giorna,; it is therefore doubly interesting to re-discover it in our own seas, as an addition to the fauna, and as re-placing an old species in the systems. ‘The P. Fabroniana differs from the P. Gorna in the length of the body (exclusive of the whip-like tail) being nearly one half of the width from tip to tip of the pectoral fins, while the length is not more than one third of the width in the latter species. Besides this great proportional width of P. Gworna, its pectorals are much narrower than in the present fish, and nearly straight; while in the P. Fabroniana they are broadly falcate, recurved, and without any fan-like margin on the anterior edge. The appendage to the head forms a semicylindrical process in the P. Giorna, but forms two horn- like fins, one on each side of the head, in the Irish fish and in Fabroni’s Mediterranean one. ‘Those are represented in the figure sent to Lacepede, and engraved in his work, with, I think, rather too many turns, being twisted into regular conical horns; the corresponding parts in the specimen under con- sideration shew also a strong tendency to roll spirally, but not amounting to more than I have represented in the sketch; this is, however, a matter easily exaggerated by an artist, or the difference of age or sex would very probably make a difference in the length and consequent enrolment of those parts. “Dr. Fabroni’s species is defined as a falciformly dilated brown Ray, whitish beneath, ete. This colouring agrees exactly with our specimen, but differs entirely from that of P. Giorna. Another point of agreement between the two former specimens is the extreme slenderness of the tail, it not being more than half the thickness of that of P. Giorna,; the tail in both specimens of the P. Fuabroniana is defective as to all that portion from the barbed spine to the tip, so that the exact position or form of the spine is unknown. The figure OX RAY. 143 given by Lacepede is *of the under side only; it agrees, however, very well in the general form and proportions, broad, recurved pectoral fins, frontal processes, and the small size of the tail. There is a very strong resemblance also between the present fish and the Indian C. Auhlii, as figured by Miiller and Henlé, particularly in the form of the lateral processes of the head, and the general proportions of the body; but our specimen and Dr. Fabroni’s seem to differ from that species in the small size of the head, and some minor points, in addition to the difference of habitat. “Length of the Irish specimen from the front to the dorsal fin one foot eight inches; entire width three feet eight inches and a half; height of the dorsal fin two inches and a half, length the same; from one eye to the other eight inches.” For the sake of brevity I will take from the accounts of Lacepede and Risso only as much as may serve to afford a proper understanding of the nature and uses of the remarkable processes which have been compared to horns, and which form the principal portion of the character of this tribe of fishes, the employment of which appears to constitute a highly curious portion of their history. Im the example described by Lacepede those processes were slender, moveable, and upwards of eighteen inches in length, thus measuring about a fourth part of the whole length of the body of the fish. They are formed of ribs of cartilage bound together with a membranous substance, so moulded as to be capable of being spread out like a fan, a structure which serves as well to enable the fish to feel its way, as to convey food to its mouth. Risso describes these processes in the recent fish as being whitish on the inside, tinted with blue on the outside, and very black at the extremity. It appears to have the power to unroll these processes at will, and to direct them towards any object it wishes to approach. Its mouth is large, and the jaws are furnished with several rows of blunt teeth. There were two long appendages (apparently claspers) attached to the ventral fins; tail long, tapering, with three rows of rough elevations. ‘The length of the example was between thirteen and fourteen feet. In the month of September, 1807, a female of this species, which weighed twelve hundred pounds, was caught in a stake- 144 OX RAY. net (mandrague) at Nice, and for two days afterwards the male did not cease to wander about the place, until he also fell into the same snare. ‘Their usual haunts are supposed to be at a great depth, from which they are only driven by stormy weather. —— = SS » 7 a - ee *: ESE eee ee eet - OO ——— CHIMERA. Tue gill openings on each side outwardly single; upper lip divided into two portions; the fore teeth cutting, two only, above and below. ARCTIC CHIM/AHRA. RABBIT FISH. SEA APE. KING OF THE HERRINGS. Simia marina, GrsnerR; Nomenclator Aquatilium, p. 153, copied by Jonston, pl. 7, fig. 6. Galeus acanthias Clusii exoticus, WittoucuBy; p. 57, tab. b. 9, copied ap- parently from Clusius, whose figure was from a badly-dried skin. Chimera monstrosa, Linn2&vs. Chimere Arctique, LacrrepE AnD Risso; the Cat of the latter also. Amone the aberrant forms which lie upon the outskirts of the families of Sharks and Skates without bearing a very close resemblance to either, is the Linnean genus Chimera, which, although consisting of no more than two recognised species, has been separated into two distinct genera; and that one which particularly comes under our notice is among the most remarkable of fishes, whether we consider its shape and habits, or the coldness of the climate in which it finds its safety and delight. The far greater number of the species in the families above named, are inhabitants of the warm or temperate regions of the ocean; but the Chimera and _ its kindred species the Callorhynchus, frequent the coldest por- tions of the globe; but what is still more extraordinary, these closely-allied fishes are known only in regions wide as the poles asunder. It is the Chimera, or to call it by its humbler and more VOL. I. XG 146 ARCTIC CHIMERA. familiar name, the Rabbit Fish, that is chiefly known within the icy waters of our northern circle of the world, and from which it seldom wanders; so that its occurrence in the most distant, in that direction, of the British Islands, is rare and accidental; and consequently its scientific observers have been few. Indeed, within its native seas it is said to come near the surface only in the dark hours of the night, and therefore it can only be by rare good fortune that its living manners shall fall under the inspection of any one. For these reasons we find ourselves compelled to le under an obligation to two or three of the students of nature for what we have to say of this curious fish, as regards either its form or habits; and of these we shall assign the preference to the French natu- ralist Lacepede, which we do principally from the consideration that he appears more than others to have observed and studied it in its living condition. We have figures which probably are correct on the whole in the works of Bloch and Dono- van; but the colours are perhaps a little exaggerated, for Gesner informs us that the drawing he had received from a friend, and which formed the first announcement of this fish to the world, was simply of a greenish tint. The figure by Lacepede, which I copy, appears to answer more closely to his description than either of the others above mentioned, and it also more emphatically bears out the fanciful similitude of the fabulous Chimera of the ancient Greeks, from which Linneus derived its scientific name. According to the French author above referred to, the activity, in connection with the grotesqueness of the movements of this fish, the flexibility of its very long and slender tail, its manner of uncovering its teeth, and continually twisting about the different portions of its flexible muzzle, forcibly call up in the spectator’s mind the grinning and absurd actions of the monkey; while the singular form of its body, its long tail, (much like that of a snake,) joined to a massy head which resembles that of a lion, with the long first rays of its dorsal fin representing in some sort the mane of that beast; to which we add in the male a small elevated horn on the fore part of the head, that is crested with a tuft of slender threads, which may be supposed to represent the crown of the king of beasts. The lineaments of the other parts of the body at ARCTIC CHIMERA. 147 first view appear unnatural, and bear little likeness to any- thing found in the generality of fishes. In its body, although not more than three feet long, it has much resemblance to a Shark. It is compressed in a slight degree at the sides, and lengthened, and rapidly diminishes from the pectoral fins to the end of the tail. The skin is pliant, smooth, and covered with scales so small as not to be sensible to the touch, but they are so bright and silvery as to cause the whole surface to shine. Im some cases there are brown patches scattered over this surface, by which the brightness is rendered more conspicuous. ‘The large head is of a pyramidal shape, ending in a point at the muzzle, the top of which is about the same height as the eyes, which are large; and near them is the lateral line, which is white, sometimes edged with brown, and on each side reaching to the middle of the tail, where it descends below the lower portion of the body, to be joined with the corresponding line on the other side. Near the head the lateral line divides into several waved, branches, one of which passes over the back. to meet a branch of the line from the other side. ‘lwo other branches pass round the eye and meet at the snout. A fourth proceeds to the corner of the mouth, and a fifth passes in a crooked direction under the last-named along the lower surface of the snout, and becomes mixed with its fellow on the other side. The surface of the body is soft and flexible, folded on the lower portion, and furnished with numerous openings for the supply of mucus. The pectoral fins are large, falciform, having at their root a fleshy base. The dorsal fin rises by a long, firm, three- cornered spine, which is notched along its hinder edge. ‘This fin becomes suddenly lower and then again wide, to the space opposite the vent. There is a very small space between it and the second dorsal, the rays of which are about the same length as those which end the first, but which become lower gradually to the tail, where they end. In some instances, however, this interval between the fins does not exist, so that some naturalists reckon three fins in the space along the back where others mention only one. The tail ends in a long and very slender filament. ‘The anal fins are two, of which the first is very short and slightly falciform, beginning below the 148 ARCTIC CHIMERA. place where the lateral lines of each side join each other. The second is very narrow and short. ‘The ventral fins enclose the orifice of the vent, and, like the pectorals, are united to a fleshy base. Its mouth is small, and each jaw is supplied with two long plates with cutting edges, having furrows that cause them to resemble distinct incisor teeth. In the palate also are two flat and triangular teeth. Besides the crest which stands in front of the head, near the snout of the male fish, there are before the ventral fins two organs, which are in some degree like small feet, and have nails, but their use is the same as that of the claspers in the Sharks and Skates. It is only at the time of depositing its eggs that this fish comes into shallow water, and it is then seen only at night, for the brightness of sunshine appears to dazzle its eyes. Its ordinary food is crabs and shell-fish, but it also feeds eagerly on herrings, and probably also on other fish. We add a short description from Dr. Fleming, as referred to at the beginning of this article, of an example sent to him from the Orkney Islands; the more especially as it shews some difference from that of Lacepede:—The length nearly three feet; body compressed. Head blunt; the snout sub-ascending and blunt. ) I BOOPS. Oruer characters as in the sparoid fishes; teeth of the outward row broad and cutting; mouth rather small. BOGUE. BOX. OXEYE. Boiéps, Box, Boéz, Jonston; Table 20, f. 8. Boéps primus, WILLoucHBY; p. 317, tab. v. 8. Sparus bodps, LINN 2US. Boops or Box vulgaris, CuviER. Us oY ss YarrReELt; Br. Fishes, 2nd. Sup. Le Spare Bague, LACEPEDE. Boque, Risso. In some parts of the European side of the Mediterranean the Bogue is a common fish, and where it frequents it is in great abundance. Outside the Straits of Gibraltar also, it is found far to the south, so that it is known in the Canary Islands, and even, perhaps, in the West Indies. But it is not commonly found to wander northward; and therefore it is not a fish that we should expect to visit our coasts, for the in- fluences which point its course in that direction, across such a depth of water, however powerful, appear to be exceedingly obscure. The first British example we have a record of was caught in a ground-sean, in company with Grey Mullets, in the early part of October, 1842, at St. Mawes, in the harbour of Fal- mouth, and fortunately came into the hands of Alfred Fox, Esq., who caused a drawing to be taken, from which our 226 BOGUE. figure is derived. The specimen itself was afterwards preserved, and is now in the Museum of the Royal Cornwall Institution at ‘Truro. Since that time several examples have been caught at the same place, and one of them was presented to the British Museum by W. P. Cocks, Esq. The general habits of this fish bear some resemblance to the others of this family, and especially in its food, which is partly animal—of such small creatures as fall in its way. But it also feeds on sea vegetables, and is consequently found to keep chiefly in places where they most abound. Its teeth, the form of which we copy from Cuvier, are well fitted to crop these weeds from the rocks; and its intestines are long, convoluted, and capacious, as is the case with all creatures, as well of the land as water, which are in the habit of making vegetables a considerable portion of their food. It is said to be an agreeable diet, and hence, we are told, it meets with a ready sale. The Bogue grows to the length of eight or nine inches. Jonston says it reaches to a foot, but Willoughby remarks that he never met with one of so great a length; and yet the example from which our figure and description are taken, measured in extreme length the dimensions assigned to it by the first-named writer. The general form is thick and solid; the head small proportionably to the bulk of the body, and the gape narrow. The teeth are wide, thin, and cutting, of the shape seen in the figure. The greatest depth of the specimen described was closely behind the termination of the pectoral fin, where it measured two inches and seven eighths, and from thence it tapers to the origin of the tail. The eye is larger than in others of its family; cheeks and body with large scales; lateral line high and straight. The dorsal fin is highest at its beginning, and from thence it grows narrow in its progress, as does also the anal fin; the pectorals rather narrow. ‘The colour along the back, from the snout to the tail, is a bluish purple, mottled along the top of the head, and with tints of pink and vermilion about the eyes. By authors who have studied this fish in its more native haunts, the stripes along the sides are described as of a brilliant gold-colour, separated by stripes of bright silver; the belly silvery. But in the Cornish example the yellow on the sides BOGUE. 220 is faint, and the brilliant whiteness is changed to dull. The dorsal and anal fins are of a faint blue, as is the tail, with tints of pink. § The fin rays are enumerated by Willoughby—dorsal fifteen, anal nineteen; by Risso—dorsal fourteen to sixteen, anal three to sixteen, ventral one to five, pectoral fourteen, caudal seventeen; by us—dorsal fourteen, anal three. is \ Ud Teeth of Bogue. VOL, I. 2K 228 PAGRUS. Two rows of small rounded molar teeth in each jaw; the front teeth fine and crowded; strong conical teeth in the outer series. BECKER. Tis is one of the fishes of which Dr. Gunther, in his “Catalogue of the Fishes of the British Museum,” has ex- pressed his opinion that Mr. Yarrell, in his history of our native species, has made the mistake of uniting the figure of one—the true Pagrus—copied from Cuvier’s work, with the description and synonymes of a different species. Where fishes so nearly resemble each other as a large portion of this family are known to do, the marks of distinction, which are laid down by description only, as also figures taken from examples perhaps badly preserved, and when their dis- tinguishing tints have faded, are very likely to lead to errors of reference, similar to those which, in this instance and a few others, are attributed to my deceased friend. But if in this instance such an error has been fallen into, it has ex- tended far more widely than Dr. Gunther appears to suppose, since it is shared by most of the British naturalists, if not indeed by all, and not excluding the names of those excellent observers Willoughby and Ray. These last-named authors, who acted together, had travelled along the shores of the Mediterranean, for the special purpose of studying the natural history of the fishes of that sea im connection with those of their native country; and as some misunderstanding appears then to have existed in regard to the two fishes which had fallen within their observation, they have drawn at considerable length a comparison between them. The first is the Erythrinus or Rubellio, which Dr. Gunther believes to be the same with [> BECKER. 299 the fish said to be mistaken by Mr. Yarrell for the true Pagrus of the older and continental authors. ‘The above- named distinguished British naturalists inform us that the Pagrus they are describing is the same that was known by the name of Pagrus to Rondeletius, Belon, Aldrovandus, and Gesner, and that it was known in England as (at least a species of ) Sea Bream. The figure they give, Tab. v. 1, f. 5, is certainly different from that of the fish familiarly known to us as the Becker; and indeed if I felt myself compelled to resort to some already published likeness for a representation of the species known to our fishermen by the name of Becker, it would not be this, but rather to the original of Mr. Yarrell’s figure, at least in its outline, to which I would assign the preference. The distinctions drawn by Willoughby and his friend between the species he knew as Hrythrinus, and that which he de- nominates the Pagrus, besides the wide difference of form, is, among others, that the Pagrus so much exceeds it in size as to attain the weight of ten pounds, while that of the Erythri- nus rarely amounts to a pound and a half. Willoughby is particular in mentioning the sinus or gathering up, which is so conspicuous at the end of the dorsal and anal fins, in his Pagrus and our Becker; but he unfortunately adds that there is a strongly-marked iron-coloured spot on the side, at the origin of the lateral line, which does not exist either in our Becker or the two species he names, as represented in his figures, and which, in our British Sea Breams, is only seen in Pagellus centrodontus and P. curtus, if the latter should prove to be a separate species. Amidst so much apparent doubt and confusion it therefore becomes necessary that no further mingling of synonymes should take place; and hence, as regards the present species and one or two more that will follow, my intention is to confine myself to such a representation, both of resemblance and description, as shall present a satisfactory account of the species as it is found with us, without mingling it with the authority of British, and still less with that of foreign writers. The Becker is common on the south and west of England, but it does not appear to be of frequent occurrence in the north of England or Scotland. It probably will be found in 230 BECKER. Ireland also, but it is not mentioned in Thompson’s natural history of that country. Its habits are migratory, and its visits are confined to the summer and autumn, leaving us on the approach of colder weather in the beginning of winter. It is a solitary fish, so that it is not usual to find more than one or two at once in a boat, and those only of the full growth: for it has never been our chance to obtain an individual in the earlier stage of its growth. Its residence is at the depth of several fathoms, where its food is like that of the other Sea Breams. ‘The mussel appears to be a favourite bait, but the smaller fishes, crustacean animals, and sea vegetables are eagerly devoured. This fish is found from fourteen to sixteen inches in length, and a usual weight is five or six pounds. The head and body compressed, sloping from the origin of the dorsal fin to the mouth; lips fleshy; jaws about equal; eyes rather small, lateral; nostrils near the eye, large, and open; scales on the body and gill-covers large. The body deep, narrower towards the tail. Dorsal fin, and also the anal, expanded towards their termi- nation; their posterior rays bound down, without much freedom of motion, and the skin at the sides is gathered up, so as to leave a considerable chink below. Lateral line rising in a gentle sweep, depressed near the termination of the dorsal and anal fins. ‘Tail concave, pectorals pointed, ventrals large. Colour of the back bright red, with a tint of pink, and sometimes of green before the dorsal fin. The red _ paler towards the tail; fins generally red, except the ventrals and anal, which are dusky. Iris yellow or red, sometimes with tints of green. Fin rays—dorsal nine, anal three. xx WES BREA SEA COUCH’S COUCH’S SEA BREAM. Couch’s Sea Bream, Zoouoaist, vol. i, p. 81, 1843. Pagrus orphus, Cuvier. és f GountTHER; Cat. Br. M., vol. i, p. 467. Pagellus Rondeletit, Zooroeist, 1846. “cc ee YaARRELL; Br. Fishes, 2nd. Sup., p. 4. THERE appears to be only one recorded instance of the capture of this remarkable species in this country, and in many respects it appears to be scarcely known to naturalists in general, although described by Cuvier as a native of the Mediterranean. ‘The figure given by the last-named author, although referred to above, at least in the outline of its physiognomy, is but little characteristic; and the likeness of the Chrysophrys crassirostris would better answer to the fish we are about to describe. It was taken on the 8th. of November, 1842, with a baited hook, at a rocky ledge termed the Edges, at the distance of three miles south of Polperro, in Cornwall, and was placed in my possession as soon as it was brought on shore. Its weight was six pounds. The head thick, the muzzle remarkably so, and rounded; the line of the front sloping suddenly from the forehead to the mouth; eyes of moderate size, high, and near the front; nostrils in a slight depression, the superior large and open. Jaws equal, not protruding, the lower with a well-marked chin. ‘The teeth in front stout, somewhat separate, those of the upper and lower jaws inter- locking. The scales large, and conspicuous on the hinder gill-covers; on the middle plate none, and slightly marked on the anterior plate. The head being short the back rises high above it. Lateral line very dark, not greatly curved, and scarcely continued to the tail, the body ending in a defined form at the origin of the caudal fin, with an incision opposite a32 COUCH’S SEA BREAM. the course of the lateral line. At the vent the body appeared as if constricted. Colour of the front and top of the head brownish red; of the back and fins as if formed by a mixture of lake and vermilion; the fins of the same colour, except the anal, which is pale yellow; sides pale red; belly whitish. Iris of the eye yellow. As the colours faded there appeared a yellow margin at the angles where the scales met. ‘There was a gathering up at the termination of the dorsal and anal fins, as in the Becker, but less conspicuous, and more decidedly at the anal than the dorsal fin. The tail concave, but less regu- larly so than in most of the sparoid fishes. Third ray of the pectoral fin the longest. Fin rays—dorsal twelve firm and ten soft, pectoral thirteen, ventral four, anal three firm and eight soft. The remarkable shortness of the head, with the roundness and steepness in the declivity of the front, equality of the jaws, stoutness and interlocking of the teeth, and singular form of the chin, are sufficient to distinguish this species from every other recognised as British; and at the same time it so nearly agrees with the figure and description of Orphe, as given by Rondeletius, that I have little hesitation in believing it to be the same fish. ‘The only difference I can find is, that he represents the vent as being very small; which is the contrary to what was perceptible in my example; but a variety of circumstances will explain this slight discrepancy. Among ancient writers there appears to be much disagreement regarding this fish, but the difference of their accounts will be explained when we call to mind that with them several very different species bore the same name, and even that one so denominated—the Rud—is a fish of the fresh-water. Oppian appears to represent it as devouring shell-fish, which is not improbable when we take into account the form and_ solid structure of its grinding teeth; but he further states what would be highly remarkable, if true:— slow-dying Orfs, Whose bodies long will stubborn life retain. Repeated wounds the tortured wretches feel, Yet dare the cruel hand and cutting steel; The parts disjomed and mangled as they lie, Still pant and moye, and will at leisure die. PAGELLUS. Sra Breams with the molar teeth small, in two rows; the front teeth slender, numerous, the outward series slightly the largest. ERYTHRINUS. Erythrinus or Rubellio, Jonston; p. 67, tab. 18, f. 6. se ss WIittoucuBy; p. 311, tab. v. 6. Pagellus Erythrinus, UVIER. GunTHER; Catalogue of Br. Museum, vol. i, p. 473. Tuis fish is well known in the Mediterranean, and its range extends so high asthe mouth of the Danube. It is also not uncommon to the southward as far as Teneriffe; but its course to the north is less extensive, although it has been taken, not only in Cornwall and Devon, but in the Firth of Forth. In its more native seas it is in the habit, like most others of this family, of changing its haunts according to the season; in winter keeping in deeper water, but in summer drawing near the shore, where from the regard in which its flesh is held it becomes an object of interest. Willoughby thought it most excellent in winter; which at least implies that it is caught at that season. It may be readily distinguished from our Becker, or from the true Pagrus, with which it has been confounded; and also from the Common Sea Bream, and the Spanish Bream. From the former it differs in its smaller and more lengthened form and sharper snout; in which particulars it also differs from the two last-named species; as well as from the adult growth of the Common Sea Bream in the absence of the conspicuous spot on the side. In the individual I have examined the colour also varied remarkably from all the species of this family I have seen; but this is less to be insisted on since Risso repre- 934 ERYTHRINUS. sents it differently from our description. ‘That author says it is pale red on the back, and light coloured below; but the colour as marked by myself was a darker, or brick red, and only varied by being paler on the belly. The extreme length was thirteen inches, and to the end of the middle rays of the tail eleven inches and a half. The gape rather small; under jaw slightly longer than the upper. Eye of moderate size. Posterior border of the gill-cover slightly - concave at its upper portion. ‘The dorsal fin somewhat elevated at its origin; the first ray lower than the second; this fin lowest at the termination of the spinous rays. Pectoral slender, the fifth ray the longest, reaching opposite the beginning of the anal fin. Ventral long. Lateral line slightly curved, and suddenly bent down as it approaches the tail. The caudal fin more than usually concave. Fin rays—dorsal twelve spinous and ten soft, pectoral fifteen, ventral one spinous and five soft, anal three spinous and ten soft, caudal eighteen, besides obsolete rays. 235 SPANISH BREAM. Axillary Bream, YaRRELL: Br. Fishes, vol. i p. 122. Pagellus Owenii, Gun7ruer’s Catalogue of the Br. Museum, vol. i, p. 478. Tus is one of the fishes on the synonymes of which doubt is thrown by Dr. Gunther, as quoted above; and on which there- fore, in conformity with a rule already laid down, we must be contented to make our remarks without reference to other authors; but it is the best known to Cornish fishermen of all the species of Sea Breams that wander to our shores only on unusual occa- sions; and with them it bears the name of Spanish Bream; that name not being applied, as Mr. Yarrell seems to have understood, to the Erythrinus, which was the subject of our last article; unless indeed it may have so happened by their confounding one with the other. We only meet with single examples of this fish; which are usually caught with a common baited hook among other Sea Breams, in the summer and autumn. As, however, this fish bears some near resemblance to the fish next to be described, a close description will be best made by a comparison of one with the other. The weight scarcely exceeds two thirds of that of the Common Bream; the body rather more slender, head flatter on the top, eye smaller and more oval. Before the eye the snout more protruded, gape wider; the grinding teeth broader and more blunt. Scarcely a depression before the eyes to receive the nasal orifices; while in the common species they are conspicuous. Dorsal fin more elevated, the anal wider. ‘Ihe pectoral fin reaches opposite the vent, but in the Common Bream to the third ray of the anal fin. As we only meet with it in its full VOL. I. 2L 236 SPANISH BREAM.. growth, the absence of the lateral spot is also a distinguishing mark. It appears to have been taken in Scotland as well as in the south counties of England. It is not mentioned among Irish fishes by Mr. Thompson; but there can be little doubt of its | visiting that country also, if closely enquired after. Piet he pve fa A i eae mel Raney nse 2 (es) ~~ COMMON SEA BREAM. BREAN. Sparus aurata, Donovan; pl. 89. Spare Marseillois, Risso. Pagellus centrodontus, Cuvier. Guntuer’s Catalogue Br. Museum, vol. i., p. 476. gs ss YaRRELL’s Br. Fishes, vol. 1., p. 190. Sparus centrodontus, Jenyns; Manual, p. 356. In regard to this fish, which with us is the most abundant of its family, an extraordinary amount of confusion has existed; which has been produced by mistaking it for some species that had been described in a general way by foreign writers, but which are of rare occurrence in Britain; so that our native writers had not possessed the opportunity of actually comparing the one with the other. Willoughby and his friend John Ray appear to have led the way in this mistake; and being without a figure, and more intent on observing the fishes of the Medi- terranean than those of Britain, they appear to have satisfied themselves with the belief that this species, which they certainly must have been acquainted with, was the same with the Gilt- head, or Sparus aurata; which latter again they were scarcely able to distinguish from the Pagrus; and accordingly Willoughby calls his Pagrus by the English name—a Sea Bream; which Ray, in his “Synopsis Piscium,” more definitely designates the Sea Bream; although the presence of the black spot on the side of the one and its absence from the others, should have been sufficient to have assured him of the difference between them. It does not appear that Linneus was acquainted with the present species; and Pennant, to a characteristic likeness of the 238 COMMON SEA BREAM. Common Sea Bream, united a description of the Gilthead, which he appears to have borrowed from some other authority. It is further remarkable that even so lately as when Dr. Turton published his ‘Translation of the System of Linnzus,” he gave no sign by which we can conclude that he recognised our Sea Bream as a distinct species. Risso is probably correct in supposing that Lacepede refers to this fish by the name of Sparus massiliensis; but the remarks of the French naturalist tend to shew that he knew but little of its form or habits. It is therefore to Risso himself that we are indebted for the first distinct description of this fish as a separate species. The Sea Bream is among our commonest, and at times most abundant fishes; and it is known from one extremity of the United Kingdom to the other. It breeds with us, and usually towards the end of the year, or in the months of winter; its station then being chosen at the depth of from thirty to forty fathoms. I have ascertained the existence of the young ones, of about an inch in length, early in January; but it seems probable that some of these fishes have not shed their spawn earlier than this season; and the young do not draw near the land until the spring has begun to yield to summer; after which, and through the autumn, they abound along the coast, and in harbours where rock and the greener sea-weeds are common, where they are angled for in the evening with much success. At this season they measure from four to six inches in length; and do not shew the dark spot on the side, which afterwards becomes a distinguishing mark of the species. In this early stage they bear the name of Chads; but towards the close of autumn the name changes as the darkened patch begins to appear. The spot, however, is not fully established until about the time of full growth; which is in the succeeding spring. This fish so far partakes of the nature of the others of its family, as to be deeply sensible to cold; and in consequence it happens that in ordinarily severe winters it passes into deep water beyond the reach of fishermen. But it soon returns on the restoration of a milder temperature, sometimes in considerable numbers. It occasionally happens, indeed, that from influences not easily understood, they assemble in enormous multitudes; and this occurs most frequently about the close of summer, when they have been observed, contrary to their ordinary habits, COMMON SEA BREAM. 239 to rise to the surface and pursue their course, as if engaged in some important business of migration. ‘Their actions under these circumstances have sometimes led the managers of Pilchard seans into considerable mistakes, from the supposition that they were a body of the latter fish; and the large abundance of them thus collected may be judged of by the fact that on one occasion, twenty thousand, and on another, as I have been informed, sixty thousand were caught in a sean at one time. When thus assembled into what is termed a schull, the fish of a given age or stage of growth are found to keep together in one body, and instances have occurred where a schull of Chads or Bream have been enclosed together in a sean, in near assemblage with a schull of Pilchards, without intermingling with them; under which circumstances in the proceeding of the fishermen, termed tucking, which will be described when we give the Natural History of the Pilchard, it has happened that the boats have first been loaded with the last-named fishes; and when they have returned on the following day to obtain the supposed remainder of their prize, to their surprise and dis- appointment, they have found nothing to satisfy their hopes but to them a worthless cargo of Breams or Chads. A story is known of an adventure of this kind, in which it would have been difficult to persuade the fishermen that some infernal agency had not been at work to disappoint their expectations, and rob them of their gain. A poor woman had gone to the sean boat to beg the gift of a few out of a suc- cessful capture of Pilchards; and usually such a request would not be preferred in vain. But on the present occasion she met a refusal, and after uttering some hasty and angry expressions, among which was a wish for their future ill-success, she went away disappointed. It happened that this poor old woman had some indefinite suspicions attached to her, as if she possessed an influence with the evil one, who would not be inattentive to her imprecations. A return to the sean, for the purpose of taking up the remainder of the capture, confirmed the worst fears of the fishermen; for, instead of the expected Pilchards, nothing offered itself but an equal loading of Chads; with the accompaniment however of a drowned toad; which was imme- diately pronounced to be an unquestionable proof of the witch’s proceedings. Nor did the result tend to lessen this impression. 240 COMMON SEA BREAM. One of the angry fishermen had taken the offending toad with him on his return; and he threw it with some exclamation into — the house of the supposed agent of the evil one. It was during a war with France; and presently afterwards this man with others was taken prisoner by the enemy. In an attempt to escape he fell before the balls of his guard, and he was the only one that did so. The Bream feeds on small fishes, crustacean animals, and sea-weeds, and it takes a bait freely; but it makes only a low price in the market; and when abundant I have known it sold for two shillings and sixpence the hundredweight. This un- worthy price, however, is not a criterion of its true value for the table; for it is by no means to be disregarded as food, and Risso speaks favourably of it. But soon after it is caught it loses its freshness, and therefore will not bear that slow carriage which has been usual to a distant market. The rail- road will remove that difficulty, and convey a palatable food of moderate price to places at which before it was unknown. DENTITION OF THE COMMON SEA BREAM, A.—Upper jaw, within. B.—Under jaw, within. C.—Outside, side view. AV ore ee ton ee : ak ny Bek Mal me = —* _— . =e elerNene — _ ’ a 3 was a KVGTG VAS LUOHS 1 \ : \ YA, XK) mint iN SHORT SEA BREAM. Pagellus curtus, Zoouoetst; vol. ii, p. 394. “ uo GuntuER’s Catalogue Br. Museum, vol. i, p. 377. On the 2nd. of September, 1843, a fisherman of Polperro took with one of his ordinary baits a Sea Bream, which he presently discerned never before to have fallen under his notice; and in consequence it was transferred to my possession as soon as he reached the land, which was before sufficient time had passed to allow it to undergo any change. At the first inspec- tion I was led to suppose that this example was nothing more than a deformed specimen of the Common Sea Bream ; and such perhaps will be the opinion of some naturalists, until at least another example with similar characters is obtained, and renewed observation shall compel them to review their opinion. But for myself, on close examination, I found this example to differ in so many -particulars besides its shortened form, that I was induced to believe it more probably a distinct species; nor has the objection to this opinion appeared to me a very for- midable one,—that no more than a single specimen has come under the observation of naturalists; for the same remark may be made of other species of fishes undoubtedly distinct, but of which a single example only is on record. That no species nearly resembling it is described by former authors, however widely extended their observations, is only a proof of its rarity, and not of its being an abnormal formation of nature. The length of this fish was fourteen inches, the greatest depth nine inches and a half; and in proportion to its kindred species the Common Sea Bream, it was of considerable thickness. Under jaw slightly the longest; the teeth in front and forward on the sides slight, conical, and somewhat scattered; gape moderate. Kye very large, being an inch and three fourths across; nostrils in a depression before the eyes, in this respect 949 SHORT SEA BREAN. and in the cheeks for the most part resembling the Common Sea Bream; but slightly differmg in the markings of the head. The body thick and plump; scales on the cheeks and body large; those on the hinder part of the body, especially above the lateral line, having well-marked festooned edges; those of the anterior part less regularly so. Lateral line at first mounting, arched, sinking opposite the ending of the dorsal and anal fins, waved in its course, and mounting again as it approaches the caudal fin: at its origin a large black spot. Pectoral fin very long, reaching to within a short distance of the termination of the anal fin; being in length four inches and three fourths, and passing two inches beyond the vent. Commencement of the 4 dorsal fin just above the origin of the rays of the pectoral. — Tail concave. ‘The colour was much as in the Common Sea Bream, but more vivid; top of the head rich brown, the back scarlet, lighter on the sides; belly white, with slight mottlings. Dorsal, pectoral, and caudal fins, and the inside of the mouth, vermilion; ventral and anal fins paler. Compared with the Common Sea Bream, laid by its side, besides the remarkable difference of the dimensions, it was distinguished by a wider gape; by the teeth, although alike in arrangement and structure, less thickly placed, especially the incisors; by a less rounded muzzle, a much larger eye, and longer pectoral fins; which being more arched, are differently shaped. In a Common Bream of the same length these fins measured three inches and three fourths. The scales also were more decidedly waved at their edge. In the stomach I found a Comatula and the bait with which it was taken, which was a slice of fish; but in the lower intestine were pieces of brown sea-weeds covered with lustre, (encrusting corals,) still continuing undigested. Fin rays—pectoral fifteen, dorsal twelve and twelve, ventral one and five, anal three and thirteen, caudal about twenty. < m7 » Mh, Scales of the Short Sea Bream. : org . ale 5 i of dards OS Pe Gp <5 CHRYSOPHRYS. Wirtu round molar teeth on the sides of the jaw, forming three rows in the upper; a few conical teeth in front. GILTHEAD. Aurata, Jonston; Tab. 16, f. 2. 6 Witovucusy; p. 307, Tab. v. 5. Sparus aurata, Linnaus. Fremine; Br. An., p. 211. x Gi Jenyns; Manual, p. 353. Spare Dorade, LAcEPEDE. Risso. Chrysophrys aurata, Cuvier. YARRELL; Br. F., vol. i, p. 111. THis fish is well known in the Mediterranean, and _ it appears from Pliny and Columella that it was held in much esteem for the tables of ancient Rome, for the supply of which it was kept in ponds, and fed with oysters to give it a better appearance and flavour; and in Martial’s opinion it was only when thus fed that it became worthy of notice:— “Non omnis laudem pretiumque Aurata meretur; Sed cui solus erit concha Lucrina cibus.” Xenia. The Gilthead only shall my praise partake When fed with shell-fish from the Lucrine lake. And shell-fish, with crabs, were supposed to be its chief or only food in its free condition, the solid structure of its teeth being well fitted to crush them in such a way as to be fit for digestion. The Gilthead does not often wander so far north as the British Islands, although examples have been met with in Cornwall and Devonshire, and Dr. Fleming obtained one so far north as the mouth of the River Tay, in Scotland. Mr. MOLI: 5 2M « 244 GILTHEAD. - Cocks, of Falmouth, has met with a couple of these fishes in _the fish-market of that town, and his remarks on them were, —that one was fat, and rich in colour, the length sixteen inches and a half, the breadth six inches; the second appeared sickly, the mouth small, lips pouting and livid, the colour like tarnished silver. This fish is said to be highly sensible of the impressions of much heat and cold, so that when these prevail it retires to deeper water; and, according to Pliny, this retreat, in the heat of summer, lasts for sixty days. Ailian represents it as amongst the most timid of fishes; and he gives as a reason for this opinion, that they were stopped and caught at the retreat of the tide by a circle of brushes stuck upright in the sand, through which they were afraid to urge their way. ‘This, it seems, was a mode of fishing adopted on the shores of Greece at such times as there was some recess of the tide, so that when the sea again ebbed the fish were left dry on the shore; and something similar to it is practised at this time on shelving shores even in our own country. The relative dimensions of a British example have already been given, but sometimes it is found of a much larger size, so as even to approach to the weight of ten pounds. In its general outline it bears no distant resemblance to the Common Sea Bream, but with a little more prominence of profile. Willoughby has noticed that it is thin at the back, and Linneus has copied this particular into his specific character. But it is particularly distinguished by its colours, of which Lacepede has afforded a glowing description. It shines, says he, with the mild lustre of silver and sky blue, the latter, which is the colour of its back, being more heightened by the silvery tints which are spread over the rest of its body; and both these colours are rendered the more conspicuous by the black of the dorsal and caudal fins, as well as by the longitudinal brown lines which pass along the sides. A golden half, circle appears above the eyes, with the concavity directed backward; and a dash of black on the gill-cover and origin of the tail, form a beautiful contrast with the silver of the scales, while a third spot of a similar kind, but of lively and variegated red rests a little above the root of the pectoral fins. ioe: * GILTHEAD. 245 These beautiful colours are described in somewhat similar, although more subdued terms, by Willoughby and Risso; but they may be expected to be far more faint when this fish comes to our coasts, if they be not then altogether changed in their aspect. There are, indeed, two species of this genus closely allied to each other, which are inhabitants of the Mediterranean, not readily to be distinguished, and both of them may, perhaps, be found to pay us an accidental visit. But, however this may be, I find it difficult, on the score of colour alone, to assign to either of them the species of which the figure is here given, but which is a correct representation of an example which fell under my own inspection speedily after it was taken from the sea. The form and arrangement of the teeth are proofs of its being a member of this genus; of which no more than the two species above referred to have been recognised in Europe. Fin rays—dorsal eleven spinous and fourteen soft, pectoral sixteen, ventral one spinous and five soft, anal three spinous and twelve soft, caudal seventeen. END OF VOL. I. B. FAWCETT, ENGRAVER AND PRINTER, DRIFFIELD. ot 4 . my * “ ‘ = ‘ ‘ et . init