Sir C. Wyville Thomson's correspondence on the "Challenger" fishes 83 



to be put into shape in certain respects. The Geographical list* I propose should come first— 

 as an elaborate Table of contents. Then the descriptions and the systematic list at the end. There 

 are several mistakes and among them a few which ought to be corrected. For example the fresh- 

 water fishes from the Mary river were not presented to us but caught with some labour by a 

 little party consisting of Murray, Lieut. Aldrich, and myself, who squatted on the bank of the 

 river for a fortnight in the hopes of getting young Ceratoclus. We took two of the mature Cera- 

 todus however and it should have been in your list. The specimens were not sent to you as ihey 

 were not put up with the rest of the fishes. I know you had plates of it so I suppose you do not 

 wish them. If you do you can have one. I should like to keep the other here as a memento of 

 a pleasant holiday trip. 



To save you trouble it would be better perhaps that I should add when necessary a note 

 indicating anything special about the fishes— such as the mode of preserving them at different 

 places. The account is rather bald without a few such details, t 



Would it not be as well to substitute some other specific name for Sancii pauli.% The French 

 are just describing the fauna of the other St. Pauls which is so much better known. 



In the introduction of your preliminary notes on the Deep-sea fishes you make some remarks 

 as to the extent and condition of the collection of fishes. I suppose you have no objection to 

 these remarks being repeated here. 



I send you two copies of the proof. If you want additional copies please send me a line- 

 also if it is necessary to send the Mss. I retain a copy and will add such additional notes as I 

 think are necessary, and then, when I get your corrected copy, 1 will have a clean proof drawn 

 and send it to you before printing off, in case you have any further alterations. 



I will be glad of the deep-sea fishes whenever I can get them. The first spurt is about over and 

 we shall need as much material as we can get to go on with. 



You will get the type collection of the Echini very shortly now. I hear from Agassiz that he is 

 very nearly done. I hope to be able to be in London in March but I am not quite strong yet and 

 am shirking the journey as long as possible. 



Yrs. faithfully, 

 C. Wyville Thomson 



Bonsyde 



Linlithgow, N.B. 



February lA, 1880 

 Dear Dr. Giinther: 



I am afraid it was trespassing altogether too much upon your time to ask you to take charge 

 of the Report on the Challenger Fishes, but I followed the principles I tried to work on as far 

 as I could, and applied to the most distinguished Ichthyologist I knew. I must ask you however 

 to allow me to bring your list as nearly into the form which has been adopted after much 

 consideration for the report, as its nature will allow. 



I am taking the utmost care that the type collection of everything goes to the British Museum 

 in its thorough completeness but I do not mean to make the Challenger Report a Museum Cata- 

 logue in any sense. The data I mean to publish are those which have reference to the Expedition. 

 No doubt all the letters and references to specimens in and out of the Museum will appear in 

 your own catalogues when these Fishes are added to them. Such a list as you send me should be 

 published by the Museum if it is required. 



I suppose that the Shore-Fishes are not of much importance but I do not wish to publish 

 matter which from my point of view is wholly irrelevant, and I must ;idd a few notes about the 



* No geographical list as such appears in the printed version; the descriptions arc made under 

 broad geographic headings, Atlantic, Temperate Zone of the South Pacific, etc. 



t To make the account of Ceratodus less " bald ", Sir Wvvilli , who evidently felt strongly about 

 these fish, wrote what must surely be one of the longer footnotes in ichthyology— almost a thousand 

 words (GiJNTHER, 1880). 



X GUNTHER apparently disregarded Thomson's suggestion, for Holoccnirum sancti pauli. n.sp. 

 appears on page 4 of his Report on the Shore Fishes (1880). 



