61 



face of the abdomen, anterior to the vent," as mentioned in the 

 • Manual of the British Vertebrata,' p. 489. 



I cannot conclude without acknowledging the benefit I have re- 

 ceived, not only on this, but on all previous occasions, when visiting 

 London, from Mr. Yarrell's liberality, in afFording me the unlimited 

 use both of his library and of his extensive collection of British 

 fishes. 



* Triyla paciloptera, Cuv. and Vai. Little Gurnard. 

 Amongst a number of fishes submitted to my examination by 



Mr. Bali, is a Gurnard, apparently of this species, ■n'hich was taken 

 at YoughaI, I believe, along ■with sprats, {Clupea Sprattus,) early in 

 the summer of 1835. Inform, it agrees in every character by \vhich 

 the T. paciloptera is said to be distinguished, (Cuv. and Vai. Hist. 

 de Pois., t. iv. p. 447.) Judging from its present appearance, I have 

 little doubt thatwhen recent it would in colour also have corresponded. 

 Its length is 2 inches, D. 10, (lašt extremely short) — 15. P. 10 — 3, 

 free. V. + 5. A. 15. C. 15. 



Second dorsal ray longest ; 25 dorsal spines ; caudal fin a little 

 forked ; lateral line spinous. Thence to D. fin, and to about an 

 equal distance below the line, rough Tvilh spinous scales ; (this is 

 not mentioned by Cuv. and Vai.) lower portion of sides smooth. 



With the T. aspera, Viviana, as described in the last-quoted 

 work, t. iv. p. 77, and whicli in length is stated likę the Tri. pceci- 

 loptera to be about 4 inches, the present specimen agrees in many 

 respects, but chiefly differs in the profile being less vertical, in the 

 anterior lobes of the snout, and in the negative character of -vvanting 

 " une ėchancrure transversale etprofonde," behind the posterior or- 

 bitai spine ; nor with the highest power of a lens can any of the an- 

 terior dorsal spines be distinguished as " dentelėe," nor the firstand 

 second ray s of the D. fin as serrated, both of \vhich characters are 

 attributed to T. aspera*. 



In the course of this examination specimens of T. cuculus, BĮ., T. 

 lineata, T.hirundo, T. pini, BĮ., and 2'. Gurnardus vt^ere before me, 

 T. lyra was not available, but the remarkable development of the an- 

 terior lobes of the snout in this species -^'ould have rendered its com- 

 parison with the specimen under consideration unnecessary. 



The T. pceciloptera has previously been obtained only at Dieppe, 

 ■where it was discovered by M. Valenciennes. 



* GobtJis Britannicus. British Black Goby. 



When at Gahvay-bay, on the western coast of Ireland, accom- 

 panied by Mr. Bali, in June 1834, I captured a species of Goby, 

 whose thicker and more clumsy form at once led me to consider it 

 different from a G. niger taken at YoughaI, \vith ■\vhich I had been 



* Since the above was \vritten I have had an opportunity of comparing 

 the Trigla here treated of with two specimens of T. aspera, — one 3į, the 

 other 4^ inches long, which are part of a collection of fishes, sent lašt year 

 from Corfii, to the Relfast Natūrai History Society, by Robert Templeton, 

 Esq., Roy. Art. This comparison served strongly to confirm every thing 

 above stiited. The T. aspera is admirably described by Cuv. and Vai. 



