58 Transactions. 



beneath, with five longitudinal, dark-bluish bands passing along 

 the side of the body and abdomen, ending poster iously on the 

 lateral line or close to the finlets. 



A Thrasher Shark or Sea Fox (squalus culpes) was caught on 

 the 18th July in a salmon net at Burnfoot Fishery (River 

 Cree) and thoughtfully forwarded to the Museum by Adam 

 Birrell, the tenant. Its length was 5 feet 3 inches and girth 

 liJ inches. The caudal fin or tail being nearly half the 

 length of the body, gives this fish a very elongated appearance, 

 feeing pelagic, nature adopts her usual system of protective 

 obscuration by colouring its back and sides like that of the 

 deep blue sea, the belly being greyish white. It is said to be 

 very rarely taken on a line, and gets the name of sea fox from its 

 wary disposition. It manifests an angry disposition towards the 

 whale. I have seen in tropical seas a thrasher continuing an 

 attack upon a whale for several hours, springing high into the air 

 and falling on the head of the whale with great force whenever it 

 appeared above the surface, so that the sound of the lilow could 

 be heard at a considerable distance. The motive for these attacks 

 appears unaccountable, seeing that from the form of its mouth and 

 teeth it could not injure a large whale. 



On the 9th of October a Topper Shark (galeus vulgaris) was 

 caught on a cod line, having swallowed a fish which had been 

 hooked of about 3 lbs. weight. Its length was 4 feet 10 inches 

 and girth 23 inches ; colour, a dark ash above ; under surface of 

 head and belly, a dirty white. It is a fierce and ravenous fish, 

 and is said to hunt in couples, which seems to have been the case 

 in this instance, as another was caught by the same fisherman 

 (Tom Beattie) shortly afterwards. It is not uncommon in the 

 Solway during summer. 



A fifteen-spinedStickleback{^g'os<eros^e('(s*7;?;mc/(«o^ was brought 

 to the Museum on 12th of October. It is a pretty little fish, olive 

 above and becoming- silvery beneath. A brilliant silvery stripe 

 passes from the snout to beneath the eye. The under surface as 

 far as the anal fin is yellow ; dorsal and caudal brown with a 

 lighter edge. This fish, like its fresh-water relative, builds a 

 nest in which to deposit its spawn. It is pear-shaped and about 

 the size of a man's fist. The nest is watched over by the parent 

 fish, supposed to be the male, until the young are able to shift for 

 themselves. 



