Thompson's midge. 121 



exceedingly difficult to catch them with a net. He further 

 remarks of an examjDle which he kept alive for a few days 

 that it disj^layed excessive restlessness and watchfulness; and 

 when noticed in its native element on sandy ground with a 

 flowing tide, although at times a wave might bear it further 

 in, it i^rescntly made its way outward again to the distance of 

 about a yard from the shore; and it was only by wading into 

 the deeper water beyond it that it was at last secured. More 

 were afterwards secured; but they disappeared suddenly, as if 

 in periodical migration. 



As it would scarcely have been safe to place this little fish 

 in our British Catalogue as a distinct species, without first 

 soliciting the opinion of Dr. John Edward Grey, of the British 

 Museum — to whom we have had occasion to feel greatly 

 obliged on other occasions — some examjjles weie submitted to 

 his inspection, and the following is a portion of his reply: — 

 •'It seems to be the young state of the genus Coryjihcena 

 or Dolphin. We have some sj)ecimens of twice the size of 

 those that INIr. Edwards sent, and others intermediate in size 

 between them and the adult fish. It is curious that the 

 y^oung CoryplicBna should be found on the coast of Banflf in 

 abundance, and the adult not found there, as far as I know." 

 The occurrence of this fish on the coast of Scotland is 

 indeed remarkable, and especially as the observations of Mr. 

 Thompson on the coast of Ireland tend to shew that the 

 former is not an isolated instance. It is only provisionally 

 that we have designated these examples by the name of 

 Thompson's Midge. 



VOL. III. 



