*with the Vaagmaer of Iceland. 219 



to nearly half an inch towards the tail. The oral surface of the 

 gill-arches were covered by rather lengthened conical tuber- 

 cles. A portion of the groove on the head was distinctly 

 visible, but no trace of the bony process on the snout re- 

 ferred to in Dr. Duguid's description. 



In recurring to the description which Mr. Hoy has given 

 (Linnean Transactions, vol. xl. p. 210.) of a fi^h which he con- 

 sidered as the Trichiurus Lepturus of Linnaeus, and which was 

 cast ashore in the Moray Frith after high wind from the 

 north, Nov. 2. 1 8 1 0, I feel disposed to refer it to the deal fish 

 of the Orcadians. The remains of the tail existed, consisting 

 of three or four soft spines or bristles of different lengths, not 

 exceeding 2 in. Now^, while these spines or bristles may have 

 been the remains of a caudal fin, they could not have been 

 produced even from the decomposed simple tail of the Tri- 

 chiilrus. The position assigned to the vent, the absence of 

 ventral fins, and the white colour of the sides, all accord with 

 the deal fish. The colour of the dorsal fin, however, which 

 was of a blackish green, seems to oppose this view, though 

 the dead state of the fish may probably serve to explain this 

 difference, if duly considered. 



While noticing this fish of the Moray Frith, in my History 

 of British Animals, p. 204-., along with the description of an- 

 other specimen from the same estuary, and likewise referred 

 by the same observer to the Trichiurus Lepturus of Linnaeus, 

 I offered the following remarks : — " From the preceding 

 descriptions, which I have been induced to give in detail, it 

 appears probable that the two fishe's examined by Mr. Hoy 

 belonged to different species. The differences in the position 

 of the vent, the structure of the tail, and the condition of the 

 edge of the belly, seem too great to justify the inference of 

 their being only varieties. The latter fish appears identical 

 with the Lepturus of Artedi, and consequently of Lin- 

 naeus." 



The deal fish belongs to a singular group, remarkable for a 

 lengthened compressed form, and the skin covered with small 

 scales. By Cuvier they are not unappropriately termed 

 riband fish, but to which he has unfortunately added the 

 family term zfaenioides, conveying thereby an idea of relation- 

 ship to the tapeworm. Of the British species of this family 

 we may be said to possess the following : — 



1. Cepola rubescens, the band fish. Found on the south coast of 

 England. 



2. Gymnogaster arcticus, the deal fish. North-east coast of Scotland. 



3. Gymnetrus Hawkenw. Coast of Cornwall. 



4-. Trichiiirus Lepturus, the blade fish. North-east coast of Scotland. 

 5. Lepidopus tetradens, the scale-foot. South coast of England. 



