200 NOTES ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. 



Supposed Occurrence of Ddphinus tni'sio. Fab., (the Bottle-nosed 

 Dolphin) off the Maplin Sands. — A somewhat mysterious animal was 

 announced in the London evening papers of June jgth as a "Bottle-nosed 

 Whale near Southend." We at once wrote to our local member, Mr. F. G. 

 Whittle, F.E.S., for information, but he was unable to find the fisherman 

 Gundy, the captor of the reputed whale, who was away in his boat. Mr. 

 Whittle, however, furnished us with a copy of the Southend Observer of 

 June 22nd, which afforded some information. The animal was captured off 

 the Maplin Sands, and was brought by Gundy to the beach at Shoeburyness. 

 The reporter writes that " after a walk of about a mile along the Southchurch 

 Beach we came across a canvas enclosure by the side of Mr. Grundy's boat. 

 Upon a board hanging outside there was an announcement to the effect that 

 for the sum of 2d. a whale would be seen ; and within the enclosure, with the 

 sand still moist from the receding tide, a large aquatic animal lay full length 

 in the skiff. It was dead, although it had lived for about twenty hours after 

 it was captured. ' This is a bottle-nosed whale from the Mediterranean,' said 

 Mr. Grundy, with the air of a practised showman. ' I caught the animal in 

 my net, and it gave us a bit of trouble ; but I managed to tow it in, and here 

 it is. I sunk the skiff under the whale, hoping to keep it alive when I got it 

 ashore, but it lashed about with any amount of fury, splashed it's blood all 

 over the place, and died.' 



" Putting the tape over his captui'e, he found it measured iift. in length 

 and 5ft. iiin. round the centre of the body. Its heavy tail was in the reverse 

 position to that of an ordinary fish's, and would be horizontal when the 

 animal was in the water. It was almost black on the back, breaking into 

 silvery white on the stomach, and its bottle-nosed head showed the existence 

 of a powerful jaw and two ugly rows of sharp teeth." This description 

 applies fairly well to Delphinus tursio, which is found occasionally from the 

 Mediterranean to the North Sea. Dr. Laver says that it has occurred off 

 Essex several times within his own observation, and with the porpoise may be 

 considered as a regular visitor, but as the Southend specimen was not seen by 

 a competent naturalist we can only record the facts as we have them. Mr. 

 Whittle could not learn what eventually became of the animal. — Ed. 



PISCES. 

 Conger Eel (Conger vulgaris) at Walton-on-Naze. — According to the 

 Essex Standard a large Conger Eel was caught off the beach at the end of the 

 week ending December 16th (1899J by a man named Newman, who was 

 employed in the new sea-wall works. The fish measured 6 feet 6 inches in 

 length and 23 inches in girth, and weighed 63 lbs. It was seen floundering in 

 shallow water and was captured with a boat-hook. It was subsequently cut 

 up and sold at yd. per lb. The Conger is by no means a frequent visitor to 

 our shores. 



CRUSTACEA. 



Old Oysters attached to Crabs. — In the Field for November 25th, 

 1899, Mr. George Hunt, Orford, Suffolk, writes :--" When fishing on Satur- 

 day last with a seine net in Hollesley Bay I caught a hen crab, and on its 

 back was a four-year-old oyster. After making inquiries of all the old 

 inhabitants and fishermen, I cannot find a case of the same kind occurring 

 'before, so think it may {.-os:.ibly in^orcjst some of your many readers. The 



