BY WILLIAM MACLEAY, F.L.S., &C. 459 



off the South Head of Botany Bay, in 40 fathoms of water, it was 

 kept down for three hours, at the end of which time it was working 

 in 55 fathoms of water. The Trawl was found to contain no weeds, 

 but showed evidence of having been well on the ground. 

 In the Trawl were found, 



3 dozen Lepidotrigla. 



Several small John Dorey (Zeus australis.) 



2 dozen small sting rays. 



4 skates (fiaia), about 4 lbs. weight. 

 Several small saw-fish." 



" 2. November 27th. Trawl put down four miles off Colamulla 

 Reef in 22 fathoms water, steering south-by-east. The Trawl was 

 kept down three hours, and when raised was in 40 fathoms of 

 water, the haul consisted of, 



Several dozen of Lepidotrigla. 



14 John Dorey. 



6 saw-fish sharks (Pristiophorus.) 



A number of sting rays. 



A fiathead. 



3 small soles." 



Of these the Lepidotrigla and Raia are new, and will be 

 described at the end of this Paper. Looked at as a whole, I 

 consider the results of this trawling experiment as decidedly 

 promising. The existence of a true skate so near us and in such 

 apparent quantity, is of itself a valuable discovery ; the abundance 

 of the John Dorey is also important, for it has hitherto been 

 considered rare, and for its quality as a food fish it is unrivalled in 

 the world. The new species of Lepidotrigla seems to be very 

 abundant in these moderate depths, but its size is not sufficient to 

 make it valuable in a commercial sense. The paucity of Pleu- 

 roneatidce I should feel inclined to ascribe, notwithstanding the 

 opinion given to the contrary in the minute quoted above, to the 

 probability that the trawl did not as a rule closely scrape the 

 ground, and the fact that it came up free of weeds seems to 

 strengthen this supposition. 





