372 PISCES (OSSEI) ACANTHOPT. [TRICHIURUS. 



that some of the anterior ones are so small and slender as easily to 

 be overlooked. Number of vertebrae given as one hundred and eleven. 

 Cuvier would seem to be of an opinion, that there is no other well 

 ascertained species belonging to this genus. 



GEN. 22. TRICHIURUS, Linn. 

 46. T. Lepturus, Linn.? (Hair-Tail.) 



T. Lepturus, Hoy in Linn. Trans, vol. xi. p. 210. Flem. Brit. 

 An. p. 204. Block, Ichth. pi. 158. ? Cuv. Reg. An. torn. n. 

 p. 218.? Cuv. et Vol. Poiss. torn. vm. p. 173.? Silvery Hair- 

 Tail, Yarr. Brit. Fish. vol. i. p. 182. 



LENGTH. Twelve feet and upwards. HOY. 



DESCRIPT. " Length, from the gills to the extremity of the tail, twelve 

 feet nine inches : breadth, eleven inches and a quarter, nearly equal for 

 the first six feet in length from the gills, diminishing gradually from 

 thence to the tail, which ended in a blunt point : greatest thickness two 

 inches and a half: distance from the gills to the anus forty-six inches : 

 dorsal fin extending from the head to the tail : no ventrals or anal ; but 

 the thin edge of the belly closely muricated with small hard points, 

 scarcely visible through the skin, but plainly felt. Both sides of the 

 fish white, with four longitudinal bars of a darker colour ; the one imme- 

 diately below the dorsal fin about two inches broad ; each of the other 

 three about three-fourths of an inch. Side-line straight along the 

 middle." HOY. 



The above fish, originally described by Mr. Hoy, L c., was found on 

 the beach of the Moray-Frith, near the fishing village of Port Gordon in 

 Scotland, November 12, 1812. Its head had been broken off, and was 

 quite gone, and a small bit of the gills only remained about the upper 

 part of the throat. A fish, supposed to be of a similar kind, had been 

 cast upon the same shore two years previously, and Mr. Hoy commences 

 his account with a description of this last individual. From the great 

 difference, however, which appears in their relative proportions, as stated 

 by this gentleman, I am inclined to Dr. Fleming's opinion, that the indi- 

 vidual last alluded to was a distinct species, if not belonging to a different 

 genus. There can be no doubt that the one described above was a true 

 Trichiurus, and probably the T. Lepturus of Linnaeus and other authors ; 

 but as the description is rather imperfect, and the species of this genus 

 ill determined, it is impossible to speak with certainty on this last point. 

 It is worth noting, however, that neither Cuvier nor Bloch describe this 

 species as exceeding three feet. The T. Lepturus is found in the Atlantic 

 Ocean, and, like the Lepidopus argyreus, appears to have a wide geogra- 

 phical range. It is erroneously said by Bloch to inhabit fresh waters. 



GEN. 23. GYMNETRUS, EL 



47. G. arcticus, Cuv. (Deal-Fish.) 



Gymnogaster arcticus, Cuv. Reg. An. (1st Ed.) torn. n. p. 246. 

 Deal-Fish of Orkney, Flem. in Mag. of Nat. Hist. vol. iv. p. 215. 

 with fig. Vaagmaer, or Deal-Fish, Yarr. Brit. Fish. vol. i. 

 p. 191. 



