254 banks's oarfish. 



which is the date inscribed on the drawing in the possession 

 of the late William Rashleigh, Esq., F.R.S., etc., and which 

 furnished the original of Mr. Yarrell's figure in the first and 

 second editions of his "History of British Fishes." 



But. the testimonies here given appear to point to the existence 

 of at least a second Cornish specimen; while on the other hand 

 we remark that at the request of Baron Cuvier, Mrs. Lee was 

 led to make search through the manuscripts and drawings which 

 formerly belonged to Sir Joseph Banks, and which at this time 

 are in the library of the British Museum; and the result was, 

 that no other drawing of a Gymnetrus could be found besides 

 a figure of that one which was left by the tide at Newlyn, in 

 February, 1778. Subsequently to this, on the occasion of the 

 exhibition in London of the example caught at Cullercoats, and 

 presently to be described, I myself made a search among the 

 papers and drawings of Sir Joseph Banks, with the aid of Robert 

 Brown, Esq., the distinguished botanist; and the result was the 

 same as Mrs. Lee had represented it. A tracing was made at 

 this time of the figure above referred to, and which is bound 

 up with a copy of the quarto edition of Pennant's "Natural 

 History." To this figure we shall again make particular reference ; 

 but I feel little hesitation in supposing that in the accounts of 

 a second Cornish specimen by Shaw and Russel, their informa- 

 tion or memory had confounded together the fish obtained at 

 Newly n, in 1788, with one which had been found by women 

 on the 18th. of March, 1796, at Filey Bay, in Yorkshire. In 

 the library of Sir Joseph Banks, there is a letter which gives 

 an account of this last-mentioned example, which measured 

 thirteen feet in length, and one foot in depth, its thickness 

 three inches, and the length of the head seven inches. Along 

 its under side behind there were rows of small tubercles of a 

 silvery whiteness. The dorsal fin began near the head, and 

 reached to the extremity of the body, and was of a red colour; 

 the number of rays two hundred and ninety-three, those of the 

 pectoral fin twelve. The vent was four feet from the snout. 



It does not appear that a likeness of this example was taken; 

 and it becomes a matter of some interest that as much as may 

 be of the particulars which belong to the figures of the undoubted 

 Cornish example may be cleared up, while there remains a 

 possibility of accomplishing it: since it appears that some of 



