among the Shetland Isles. 255 
. Subjoined are letters from Dr. Giinther and Mr. Boyd Daw- 
ins :— 
** Dear Sir, 
“The fishes collected by you by means 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, Callionymus 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 macrophthalma ; 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, GUNTHER.” 
“ 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 (Putorius furo) than 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. 
**T am, my dear Sir, 
“J. Gwyn Jeffreys, Esq. ae Yours truly, : 
25 Devonshire Place.” W. Boyp 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. | | 
