IN THE SODTH-WESTERN DISTrJCT. 113 



It is a matter of common knowledge that Mediterranean mackerel 

 are much smaller than their Atlantic brethren. I believe that certain 

 pelagic ova which I found at Marseilles in 1895 belong to the local 

 variety of the species. They are smaller than those of mackerel from 

 the British coasts, which is not remarkable. The larva, however, while 

 closely resembling that of an Atlantic mackerel (vide Cunningham, 

 Holt, 02^. cit.), differs from it in having an additional patch of yellow 

 pigment in the middle of the tail. So far as my experience goes this 

 patch is always present in the larva, so that, if it is really a mackerel, 

 the Mediterranean race of the species shows a distinctive character 

 at the very earliest stage. I have already noted that the unknown egg, 

 Sp. 10, of Agassiz and Whitman, strongly resembles that of the 

 mackerel. If this egg is rightly associated with the tow-net larvae 

 figured on the same plate, it would appear that the American race 

 also differs in larval pigment from the British. The authors, however, 

 do not insist upon the identity of the egg and larvce, and the younger 

 larva figured appears to be distinct. The older larva bears a much 

 closer resemblance to the British form. 



Some years ago I gave a brief description of some young mackerel 

 taken in the eastern part of the North Sea {vide Journal, N.S., ii., 

 1892, p. 396). So far as I know they are the only specimens which 

 have come under the notice of a naturalist, and it appears advisable to 

 give a somewhat fuller account of them. 



Including all my material, the details of locality and date are as 



folio v/s : — 



9th July, 1892, 20 to 22 mi. N.N.E. of Horn Beef, Denmark. 



12 specimens, 6 to 9*5 mm. 



23rd July, 1892, 250 mi. K, i N. of Spurn Head. 



2 specimens, 14 and 19 mm. ca. 



27th and 28th July, 1892, " Clay Deep," 150 mi. E. by N. of Spurn 



Head. 



3 specimens, 13'5 to 19"25 mm. 



The bearings are magnetic, and it will be seen from the map at 

 the end of vol. iii. of this journal that all the specimens were taken 

 between the Dogger Bank and the Danish and German coasts, and 

 at considerable distances from land. The capture was effected by 

 means of a ring tow-net of mosquito mesh, towed at the surface by 

 a steam-trawler while trawling. As the strain was often suflicient to 

 burst the net, it may be imagined that the smaller specimens suffered 

 considerably. 



Indeed, with regard to the smallest specimens, it can only be said 

 that they agree in pigmentation with mackerel larva? reared from the 



