Mr. Thompson on Fishes new to Ireland. 19 



but a comparison of my specimens with his description satis- 

 fies me of their identity. The specific character of M. minutus 

 is '^ every sixth or seventh ray of the dorsal and anal fins black/^ 

 which marking appears in the individuals under consideration, 

 though less regularly ; their dorsal fins are connected with the 

 caudal as in this fish, although the junction, as before men- 

 tioned, is only observable on close examination. Tw o of my 

 three specimens at the same time display " blackish spots, 

 which extend beyond the base of the rays [of the D. and A. 

 fins] towards the body of the fish,^' a character remarked by 

 Dr. Parnell as distinguishing M. Lingula from his new species. 

 My specimens generally possess in common the characters 

 of M. Lingula and M. minutus. 



In Mr. YarrelFs collection there is a dried specimen, A\ 

 inches long, from the Mediterranean, identical wnth mine, and 

 like them displaying conspicuously, at irregular intervals, the 

 black markings on the dorsal and anal fins*. 



Addendum. 



Solea Lingula and Solea variegata. Belfast, June 18, 1838. 

 Among some small fishes taken by dredging within the en- 

 trance to Belfast bay by my friend Dr. J. L. Drummond, on 

 the 16th instant, and considerately forwarded to me when 

 quite recent, were five specimens of Solea, or Monochirus 

 (Cuv.). Of these, which with one exception w^ere examined be- 

 fore being transferred to spirits, four individuals, vaiying from 

 31 to 4^ inches in length, are the Solea Lingula, Rond. ; and 

 one, 24 inches long, the Pleuronectes variegatus of Donovan. 

 In our two latest and best works upon the subject — YarrelFs 

 * British Fishes,' and Jenyns's ' Manual of British Vertebrate 

 Animals' — these names are brought together as synonymous, 

 or representing but one species, with, however, an expression 

 of doubt as to its correctness by the latter author. A compa- 

 rative examination of the present examples satisfies me that 

 they apply to two distinct species. 



In placing the individuals together, the most obvious differ- 



* Dublin, June 1838. — A specimen of this sole 3^ inches long, and taken 

 at Youghal, is in the collection of R. Ball, Esq. Its upper side does not 

 exhibit any variegation of colours, but is of an uniform reddish brown hue. 

 The rays of the dorsal and anal fins are occasionally black, as in all indivi- 

 duals of this species I have seen. 



c 2 



