504 A. E. Verrill—The Bermuda Tslands. 
low temperature and the-cold northwest winds, persisting for many 
days together, appear to have been sufficient to cool the sea-water 
beyond the limit of endurance for many of the tropical fishes found 
there, so that vast numbers died and were washed ashore, especially 
during the first week of March, all along the coast, but more abun- 
dantly around the shores of Hamilton Harbor and the adjacent 
islands. The stench from their decomposition became so great that 
the local government was obliged to aid in their remoyal, early in 
March, for sanitary reasons. 
The fishes that died in the largest quantities were two of the com- 
mon shallow water species, viz: the hamlet grouper and the red 
squirrel fish. Later in the season these and other fishes that had 
previously been common were found to be scarce and difficult to 
obtain. In fact, most of the ordinary market fishes were much 
scarcer than ever before. 
Among other interesting fishes seen dead on the shore were the 
green parrot-fish, large porcupine-fishes, hog fish, Spanish lady-fish, 
trunk-fish, angel-fish, ete. 
The following partial list* of species includes those that were 
particularly noticed among the dead fishes, March sth to 10th :— 
Squirreletish 2 oss25 seas Holocentrus Ascensionis. 
Hamlet Groupers=s--ee ese eee Epinephelus striatus. 
Parrot-fishe 2255 204 eee ene Pseudoscarus gquacamaia, 
Porcupine-fish s ss=5 eee eee Diodon hystrix. 
Trunk-fish) » «+ J. s a eee eee Lactophrys triqueter. 
GCow-fish 2: 2- 2 see eee Lactophrys tricornis. 
mall Rock-fishes==oe ss) see see Mycteroperca bonaci (young). 
Spanish Angel-fish; Catalineta --Holacanthus tricolor. 
Rainbow Flounder ._------..---- Platophrys lunatus. 
Guapena; Ribbon-fish .___------ Eques lanceolatus. 
Green(Moray 22 2s) eee Lycodontis funebris. 
Bermuda Hog-tish a2 s25= =e eee Lachnolaimus maxinus. 
Spanishslady-hsh 2-2 Harpe rufa. 
In this list, very incomplete as it must be, there are two species 
that had not been previously recorded from Bermuda waters, so 
* Tam indebted to my son, A. Hyatt Verrill, for part of the above list, for he 
arrived in Bermuda March 7th, when the shores were still covered with the 
dead fishes, though most of them were then so badly decomposed that they could 
not be preserved. Had he been on the ground a week earlier, he could have 
made, without doubt, a very valuable collection of the fishes, including many 
rare species not in the above list. When I arrived at Bermuda, April 12th, the 
most of the dead fishes had disappeared, though skeletons of some of the more 
abundant species were common; but a few dead, or nearly dead, specimens of 
some species were still often found floating at the surface. 
