228 Zoological Society : — 



In the smaller specimen, nine dorsal bones only remain : these 

 I believe to be xiv, xxvii, xxviii, xxx, xxxvii, xxxviii, xlix, 

 LI, and LTi ; but I am not very certain that my identification of 

 them is correct. Of the sternum, more than one-half has been 

 preserved, the missing bones being lv, lvi, lvii, part of lviii, 

 and Lix ; but the cardinal processes are much less perfect than 

 in the larger example. The greatest breadth of the sternum is 

 4*25 inches ; the length from the transverse articular suture to 

 the posterior extremity is 4 inches, while in the larger example 

 it is 4*25 inches. 



For the rest I must refer the student to the plates (Pis. VI. & 

 VII.) accompanying this brief and incomplete notice, which will 

 give a far better idea of the relics of these ancient Britons than 

 anything I can say about them. 



Elveden, June 30, 1862. 



PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



February 1 1, 1862.— Dr. J. E. Gray, V.P., in the Chair. 



Contribution to the Knowledge of the British Charrs. 

 By Dr. Albert Gijnther. 



The production of the following paper has been induced by two 

 specimens of the so-called Freshwater Herring of Lough Melvin in 

 Ireland, which were procured by Joshua Walker, Esq., and sub- 

 mitted to my examination. The differences from the allied Conti- 

 nental species were so striking, that, from the first moment, I could 

 scarcely doubt that I had a species before me which I had never seen 

 before. In the first place it appeared necessary to compare it with 

 specimens from other localities of Great Britain — with the true British 

 Charr ; but, although the period of the year (November and Decem- 

 ber) appeared to be the most favourable for the capture of those 

 fishes, as they approach the shores to spawn, afterwards returning 

 to the deepest parts of the lakes, I have been only partly successful 

 in obtaining more specimens, and I particularly regret not having 

 been able to examine specimens from Scotland, either in a fresh state 

 or preserved in spirits*. I have obtained, however, materials sufii- 

 cient for the determination of the Charrs of three localities, by the 

 kind assistance of the gentlemen who will be mentioned hereafter. 

 Our knowledge of the representatives of the Charr on the Continent 

 is chiefly due to Heckel, Nilsson, and Rapp, in whose descriptions 

 due attention has been paid to those characters by which the species 

 may be distinguished ; and for a comparison of the British Charrs 

 with those of the Continent I have had to rely chiefly on them. 

 My materials were the following : — 



* Dried and stuffed specimens of Charr are of little or no use. 



