among the Shetland Isles. 255 



Subjoined are letters from Dr. Giinther and Mr. Boyd Daw- 

 kins : — 



"Dear Sir, 



"The fishes collected by you by meaus of the dredge, at a depth 

 of from 80 to 90 fathoms, at the Shetland Islands, belong to four 

 species, all being new to the British fauna. Singularly enough, two 

 belong to Mediterranean species — viz. a Dragonet, Callionytnus ma- 

 culatus (Bonap.) and a Sand-Launce, Ammodytes siculus (Swains.). 

 The two others appear to be undescribed : one is a Rockling, dis- 

 tinguished by its very large eyes, for which I propose the name of 

 Motella macrophthahna ; the second a Goby, which I dedicate to its 

 discoverer under the name of Gobius Jeffreysi. I will furnish you 

 with descriptions of the two new species [see p. 290], and remain 



" Yours very truly, 

 "J. Gwyn Jeffreys, Esq., F.R.S." "A. GOnther." 



" Upminster, Romford, Essex. 

 " My dear Sir, " August 28, 1867. 



" I have carefully examined the remains found under such inter- 

 esting circumstances. The tooth approaches nearer to the left lower 

 canine of the ferret (Putoriiis furo) tlian to any other teeth in the 

 Museum of the College of Surgeons. From so small a portion I 

 can hardly infer the species of the animal ; but if its possessor was 

 not a Ferret, he was a Ferret's first cousin, one of the Mustelines, 

 who died in the prime of life. The corrosion of the fang is very 

 curious, and cannot be the result of the waste of the sea : it seems 

 to be the result of the action of an acid, which has been prevented 

 from attacking the crown by the crystalline structure of the enamel. 

 Nearly all the gelatine has disappeared from the fang. Its age 

 would be best arrived at by the character of the sea-bottom. If 

 from a muddy deposit, probably it is of that age ; if from a rocky 

 bottom, its age is altogether uncertain. It is not more recent-looking 

 than many of the Pleistocene bones I have dug out of caverns. 

 The second fragment seems to be a portion of the scapula of a bat ; 

 but its condition does not allow of a very accurate determination. 

 If the two were dredged up near each other, there is probably a 

 deposit of bones at the spot whence they were obtained, similar to 

 that of the east coast. Their discovery is of very great interest, and 

 I am only sorry that I can add so little to their elucidation. 



" I am, my dear Sir, 

 " J. Gwyn Jeffreys, Esq. " Yours truly, 



25 Devonshire Place." " W. Boyd Dawkins." 



P.S. I may add that, before I left Shetland^ Dr. Saxby kindly 

 undertook, at my suggestion, to ascertain whether mammalian 

 bones deposited in the sea would be corroded, and by what 

 means. 



