80 
origin of Bloch’s figure; but it is to be observed that Mr. Hawken 
sent a specimen as well as a drawing of the fish he received from Goa ; 
that his specimen was only 24 feet long, and the Cornish specimen 
81 feet. See Cuvier, Hist. Poissons, x. 374. 
Dr. Shaw (Zool. iv. 197) informs us that the drawing of Gymnetrus 
Hawkenii was communicated by “ J. Hawkins, Esq. ;” and he added, 
“‘T am assured by Mr. Hawkins that this is really the case (the tail 
being added by the draughtsman), the specimen from which the 
drawing was taken having been defective in that part.” 
From this examination I conclude that these accounts are all from 
the specimen and figure in Pennant. 
In the same copy of Pennant’s ‘ British Zoology’ occurs the follow- 
ing note and figure, which is here copied two-thirds the size :— 
** «York, March 29, ’96.—On Friday last a curious and uncommon 
fish came on shore at Filey Bay, and was taken by four women ; they 
sold it to a man who brought it to this city ; it was 134 feet in length, 
rather more than one foot in depth, and not more than 3 inches in 
thickness. Its skin was smooth and of a silver hue: had no tail, and 
its fins were the colour of those of the roach or perch. It may be 
considered as a nondescript, neither Linnzeus, Pennant, or any other 
writers on Ichthyology having given any description of it.’ 
‘This paragraph is cut from the York Chronicle of last Thursday, 
and the enclosed I traced from a drawing by Dr. Burgh, who penned 
the paragraph and made the following notes on his drawing.” —J. F. 
«13 feet long, 1 deep, 3 inches thick ; head 7 inches long ; eye 12 
diam. ; no scales, but very small protuberances, silvered over like the 
swim of a herring; these run the whole length in stripes, alternate 
with others which are bare, and of a light colour. 
“The dorsal fin runs the whole way from the head to the other 
end, at which there is no tail. The dorsal fin is red, like that of a 
roach or perch ; 6 bronchial rays; dorsal fin 290 and 13 rays; the 
