I 



BOARFISH. 143 



by a trawler of Plymouth; and a single individual was brought 

 to me in January, 1852, by a boy who found it entangled in 

 ore-weed in the harbour of Polperro. I possess a rc?ord of 

 eight examples obtained at Falmouth in the space of three 

 years; but the whole of these instances signify little in com- 

 parison with the numbers which have been since taken in the 

 west of Cornwall, on the first adventure of a trawl-vessel from 

 Penzance, which was in July, 1844. The place where these 

 examples were found was close to the Punnel Stone, near the 

 Land's End, and on the first day sixty were brought to land, 

 while several others had been thrown overboard as worthless. 

 Within a few days after this two others were caught, and in 

 the course of a single week afterwards, a hundred more were 

 captured; the numbers finally taken and subjected to examina- 

 tion exceeding two hundred. Further observation has shewn 

 that these fishes may always be found within half a mile of 

 this well-known rock, where they are probably induced to 

 assemble by congenial food; but they are scarce, or not to be 

 found beyond that distance. Small crustaceans were the only 

 food found in any of these specimens. 



The numerous examples of these fishes varied in length from 

 five to seven inches, which therefore may be regarded as the 

 usual dimensions of the species. The depth of one that 

 measured seven inches, in front of the first dorsal was three 

 inches, and the girth seven inches. The snout is lengthened, 

 and is capable of being protruded beyond its ordinary length, 

 to the extent of seven eighths of an inch. Above the eye the 

 head is narrow, and the outline is then arched concavely upward 

 and backward in a waved form to the origin of the first dorsal, 

 which is the highest elevation, from whence it slopes backward 

 to the stalk of the tail. The eye is large, round, five eighths 

 of an inch in diameter, and the same measure from the snout 

 when the mouth is closed. When extended the snout is 

 membranous, and surrounded anteriorly with a rim of bone, 

 forming the jaws, on the upper part of which is a long stout 

 bone, which j^asses into a conspicuous socket between the eyes; 

 and anteriorly it expands on each side' like two wings which 

 terminate in two horns. From the orifice of the socket pos- 

 teriorly a small slight bone passes obliquely downward and 

 forward to meet another from the rim of the mouth, thus 



