DUBLIN NATUILLL HISTOBT SOCIKXT. 197 



FRIDAY EVENINQ, JUNE 8, 1859. 



William Andeews, M. R I. A., President, in the Chair. 



The Minutes of the previous Meeting having been confirmed, were 

 signed. 



The following were presented to the Society: — An egg of the Peregrine 

 falcon {F. peregrinus), and a Pine Marten {Martea Fotna), from Robert J. 

 Montgomery, Esq. The egg of the Peregrine is from an island on the 

 coast of Donegal, where the falcon is universally known by the name of 

 Tory Hawk. The Peregrine is daily becoming more rare, on account 

 of the murderous system of poisoning. The same applies to the Marten, 

 an animal which in the north is only ^own by the Irish name of * ' Madhia 

 crann" (tree dog). 



Professor Ejnahan, F. L. S., read the following paper — 



ON THE GENUS EANICEPS, AND THE OCCUREENCE OP THE TADPOLE-FISH 

 (b. TEIFUHCATUS) in DUBLIN BAY. 



For the opportunity of being able to lay before your Society an account 

 of the occurrence of this rarely observed British fish, I am indebted to 

 the kindness of D. J. Corrigan, M. D., M. R. I. A., by whom the subject of 

 this communication was captured in Dalkey Sound, in a wire lobster-pot, 

 about three weeks ago, and in whose yivarium the specimen has lived 

 ever since, thus affording an opportunity of studying the habits of the 

 fish, a thing long desired by naturalists. 



Two records only of this fish as Irish are published, viz., one by the 

 late William Thompson, of a specimen given him by Captain Fayrer, who 

 picked it up dead, floating, near Donaghadee, in 1837; the other by 

 our respected President, William Andrews, Esq., who procured a spe- 

 cimen in Dingle Harbour, in January, 1852, which had been captured 

 on a long line set for cod-fish ; so that we have now this fish recorded 

 on the east, north, and west of the island. This agrees with what is 

 known of its distribution in Great Britain, as it has been met with at 

 Berwick, Firth of Forth, Solway Firth, coast of Northumberland, Corn- 

 wall, and the west coast of Scotland. It is to be looked on as rather a 

 fish which comes rarely under notice than as either a rare or restricted 

 species. 



The best figure and description of it published are those given by Dr. 

 Pamell in his Contributions to the Ichthyology of the Firth of Forth, 

 given in the second volume of the " Magazine of Zoology and Botany," 

 page 344, the only errors in which are the rendering of the ventral fins, 

 which are represented rather obscurely, and the length of the posterior 

 dorsal, which in Dr. Corrigan's specimen approaches nearer to the tail 

 than is shown in the figure. The head also is scarcely depressed enough. 

 The figure in Yarrell's first edition, from the pencil of Mr. Couch, is 

 also characteristic. There appears to be some difficulty as to the exact 



