FISHES 



it in the Yare and called it aspredoy a transla- 

 tion of our word ruffe (rough). Caius sent 

 the first figure of this fish to Gesner, who 

 published it.' — Yarrell {British Fishes, vol. v.). 



**3. Sea Bass. Morone labrax, Linn. 



In the adult state not common, though 

 occasionally in the Norfolk estuary. In 1869 

 I saw one caught by Mr. F. J. Cresswell, 

 which weighed 10 lb. ; larger ones have been 

 caught, but Mr. Day says a fish of this size 

 is a fine example. Sir Thomas Browne, in 

 his list, mentions ' the basse, much resembling 

 a flatter kind of cod.' 



4. Maigre. Sciana agui/a, Lac^p. 



' A specimen taken off Sherringham in 1 841 

 is in the Norwich Museum.' — J. H. G, 



Another, ' rather over 5 feet long, and 

 weighing 84 lb., came ashore at Thorpe, 

 near Aldborough, August 30th, 1868.' — Vide 

 Hele's Aldborough, p. 182. 



The third Norfolk specimen of this rare 

 fish is recorded in the Times of November 

 1st, 1875, by Mr. Tregellas of Brompton, as 

 having been caught near Yarmouth. It was 

 4 feet 9 inches long, and weighed 75 lb. 'It 

 is in the possession of Mr. Charles, Arabella 

 Row, Pimlico.' 



5. Common Sea Bream. Pagellus centrodontus, 



Delaroche. 



' A fine example was taken in a draw-net 

 off Yarmouth Beach, ist April, 1868. This 

 species is seldom captured.' — A. P. 



Two others have been recorded in Norfolk. 



vicum alluens in Baradenum estuarium at Hieri 

 (Hiermouth = Yarmouth) oppidum turn piscatu 

 turn portu celebre illabitur frequens est. Nostri 

 RufFum vocant, quod cum Latini asperum significat 

 aspredinem piscem nominavimus.' — Caius : De 

 Rariorum Animalium, etc., 1570. 



Spenser, in his Faerie Queene, book iv. canto xi. 

 stanza 33, vsrites : — 



' Him followed Yar, soft washing Norwitch wall, 

 And with him brought a present joyfully 

 Of his owne fish unto their festivall 

 Whose like none else could show, the which they Ruffins call.' 



And Sir Thomas Browne speaks of the Aspreda 

 perca minor, and, probably, cernua of Garden [/ic], 

 commonly called a Ruff, in great plenty in Nor- 

 wich, and even in the stream of that city ; which, 

 though Camden appropriates unto this city, yet 

 they are also found in the rivers of Oxford and 

 Cambridge. 



Mr. Lubbock speaks of it as being found in 

 large shoals in Norfolk rivers. 



Paget mentions it as occurring in the rivers and 

 broads. 



According to Day {British Fishes), the ruffe was 

 first noticed and figured by Belonius, p. 13. 



6. Axillary Bream. Pagellus oweni, GUnth. 

 The late Mr. J. H. Gurney, writing in 



the Zoologist, p. 1555, says: 'The length of 

 this specimen, which I received from the 

 Rev. A. Upcher yesterday, was 13I inches; 

 in its greatest depth 4 inches ; and its weight 

 I lb. 5i oz. The colour, roseate and silvery, 

 was brilliant when caught. It is preserved 

 in the Norwich Museum.' I examined this 

 fish at Mr. Gurney's request, and had not the 

 slightest doubt that it was correctly named ; 

 but the late Mr. Day, apparently without 

 having had the specimen in his hands, declares 

 {Fishes of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. i. 

 p. 41) it to be P. erythromtus. At my re- 

 quest, Mr. Southwell has re-examined it, and 

 fully agrees that it is beyond doubt P. oweni 

 {Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc, 1894). Mr. Day is 

 mistaken in supposing this to be P. centro- 

 dontus {Fishes of Great Britain, vol. i. p. 43). 



7. Red Mullett. Mullus barbatus, Linn. ; 



var. surmuletus, Linn. 

 Though of less frequent occurrence at the 

 present time than it was formerly. Sir James 

 Paget, in his History of Yarmouth, states that 

 in 1 83 1, in one week in May, 10,000 were 

 sent to the London market. Mr. A. Patterson 

 says : 'It is now very rare in Yarmouth ; 

 one weighing barely 2 lb. was caught amongst 

 others.' 



8. Common or Ballan Wrasse. Labrus macu- 



latus, Bloch. 



Yarmouth, April 15th, 1868. — Gunn. 



Lynn Roads, November 14th, 1869. — 

 E. L. King. 



One, taken at Cley-next-the-Sea, on 

 November nth, 1893, was sent to Mr. 

 Southwell for identification by Mr. Pashley 

 of Cley. 



9. Green Wrasse. Labrus mixtus, Linn. 



A specimen in the Wisbeach Museum 

 was, I am informed by Mr. Foster, the 

 curator, captured in the Norfolk Estuary in 

 1850. Mr. Cresswell has once taken this 

 fish off Hunstanton. 



10. Bergylt. Scorpana dactyloptera, De la 



Roche. 

 This was in error identified as Sc. norwegica, 

 but Mr. Southwell has since corrected it as 

 Sc. dactyloptera. It was first taken off Lowes- 

 toft, and came into Mr. Patterson's hands, 

 by whom it was submitted to Mr. Southwell. 

 It was 8 inches in length. A second speci- 

 men was captured at Yarmouth on April 29th, 

 1894. This was only 5 J inches long. — The 

 Zoologist, 1894, p. 430. 



