PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 37 



confirms a more extended geographic range of animals or of plants ; on the other, it 

 rewards his researches, and affords to him new objects of inquiry. In many papers 

 brought before this Society, analogy has been shown, bearing upon the characteris- 

 tics of the western and southern coasts of this country with those of Spain, Portugal, 

 and the Mediterranean, especially with reference to the botany and to the . 

 marine zoology ; and also instances have been noticed of peculiarities of the south- 

 west coast with the southern and western parts of Cornwall, which, to some extent, 

 prove the physical agency of temperature, humidity, and soil, in the development of 

 geographic botany. Before submitting to your notice the subject of the present 

 paper, " An Addition to the Ichthyology of Ireland," I shall briefly make some 

 remarks upon the Percoides, or perch tribe, to a division of which family it belongs. 

 These fish (the perches) are extremely numerous both in genera and species, and 

 in the lakes and rivers of Europe, and in the seas of warm climates, afford excellent 

 and wholesome food. The far greater number of Percoides have the ventral fins 

 inserted under the pectorals, and form the first division, or thoracic perches. These 

 are further characterized by seven rays to the gills, two fins on the back, and all 

 the teeth dense and even. To this division belongs the common perch of our fresh 

 waters, the Perca fluvialis. Distinctions of the opercula and tongue characterize 

 others, as the sea perch, or Bass (Labrax lupus), which is found of much finer 

 quality on the English coasts than the coasts of Ireland, although I have seen them of 

 good flavour taken in "Wexford harbour. Very large specimens of the Bass are found 

 on the coasts of the United States. An extensive series of the division might be enu- 

 merated, remarkable for their beauty, and for their usefulness as food, especially 

 the Aspro vulgaris, the zingel of the Rhone, and the Perca zingle of the Danube, 

 and the common pike-perch, the Lucioperca sandra of the Danube, the Elbe, and 

 the Oder. These, as I have before remarked, might be transported with useful 

 results to the barren waters of our inland lakes. 



The second division of the Percoides are distinguished by the single dorsal 

 fin, have seven rays in the gills, but the genera are placed according to the 

 characters of the teeth. To these belong the Serrani, a very numerous marine 

 species, frequent in the Mediterranean, but chiefly abounding in seas of warm 

 latitudes, brilliant and beautiful in their colours, and excellent as food. They 

 seldom range so far north as Britain. Two species, however, that inhabit 

 the Mediterranean have been recorded as British, the smooth Serranus (Ser- 

 ranus cabrilla) and the dusky Serranus (S. gigas), both taken on the coast 

 of Cornwall. The former is of common occurrence on the coast of Sicily. 

 The denticulated or serrated preoperculum, and the bony operculum, terminated 

 with one or two points, are characteristic of the genus. This leads me to the 

 description of what now is established as an addition to the Ichthyology of this 

 country, the "Polyprion cernium," Cuv. The genus is formed from a single species 

 common in the Mediterranean, and having an extensive range to the western isles, 

 Madeira, and known on the coast of America. It is fully described in the supple- 

 ment to Yarrell's History of British fishes, as '' Couch's polyprion," having been 

 first recorded as British on the coast of Cornwall. It is also known as the stone 

 Bass, and the wreck fish. The genus Polyprion is distinguished by being entirely 

 covered with small rigid scales ; all the opercular bones are denticulated, strong 

 bony ridges and asperities covering the head, and over and behind the eyes ; but 

 the most remarkable character is a strong bony ridge on the operculum, in a line 

 above the pectoral fin, and directed backwards, ending in a point. The discovery 

 of the fish now submitted to the meeting (and which has been so well and carefully 

 preserved by Mrs. Baker, of Grafton- street) is due to Mr. Eugene Moriarty, a most 

 intelligent fisherman, of Dingle, who superintends the stores and management of 

 the Dingle men in the employment of the Royal Irish Fisheries Company. 



When forming my records of every incident'connected with the sea fisheries of the 

 coast of Kerry, Mr. Moriarty mentioned the circumstance of a singular fish which 

 he recollected to have been taken some years since in Dingle Bay, following and 

 feeding upon the barnacles attached to floating wreck timber ; but he never knew an 

 instance of the fish being taken by the hook. His accurate description satisfied me 

 that it was a species unrecorded on the Irish coast. In the month of September 

 last Mr. Moriarty was fortunate enough in obtaining this fine specimen under most 



