FISHES OF THE FIRTH OF FORTH AND ITS TRIBUTARIES 13 



TRACHYPTERUS ARCTICUS (BrunnicK). 



REID, "Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist." (2), vol. iii. pp. 456-477, 



pi. xvi. (1849). 



A specimen of this deep-sea form, known as the Deal-fish or 

 Vaagmaer, was cast ashore dead, but in a perfectly fresh condition, 

 at Elie, early in April 1848. It was received on the 7th of that 

 month by Professor Reid of St. Andrews, to whom it was sent by 

 Dr. John Berwick of Elie. The specimen measured 5 ft. 4 ins. ' from 

 the point of nose to termination of the vertebral column,' extreme 

 height of body 1 1 inches. This appears to be the only specimen that 

 has ever been obtained in or near the Firth of Forth, and it afforded 

 Professor Reid material for a long and exhaustive account of a very 

 remarkable fish. He was wrong, however, in his surmise that this 

 example was the first that had been found in the British seas, for it 

 had previously been recorded from Orkney several times, first in 

 1817, and from the Moray Firth in 1847. 



REGALECUS BANKSII (Cuv. and Val.}. 



Mr. James Marr, harbour-master, North Berwick, informs me 

 that, some fifty-five or sixty years ago, a specimen of Banks's Oar-fish 

 was found by his brother, awash among the waves, on the east shore 

 at that town. Mr. Marr remembers the occurrence well, and 

 described the fish and its long-produced first dorsal rays with 

 accuracy. The specimen, which was about 15 feet in length, 

 was, Mr. Marr informs me, sold by his brother for ,5 to Mr. 

 Muirhead, fishmonger, Edinburgh. 



No account of the occurrence of this rare and interesting 

 abyssal form on the shores of the Firth appears to have been 

 contributed to the scientific press of the period, at least I have as 

 yet been unable to find such a reference. As the fish was exhibited 

 to the public, however, some account of it may have found its way 

 into the newspapers. I should be glad to learn of any such 

 references if known to any of our readers. 



GADUS MINUTUS, Linntzus. 



REP. MARINE ZOOL. COMM., " Proc. Roy. Phys. Soc. Edin.," vol. ii. 

 p. 443 (1863); EWART, ibid. vol. viii. p. 273 (1885); FULTON, 

 "Rep. Fish. Board Scot.," 1890, part iii. p. 92 (1891); 

 EAGLE CLARKE, "Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist.," 1895, p. 26. 



The Power Cod was added to the fauna of the Firth of Forth 

 through the investigations of the Marine Zoology Committee of the 

 Royal Physical Society in 1863, but without detailed particulars. 



On the igth of March 1884 Professor Ewart (I.e.] exhibited a 



