Dr. A. Giinther on a new form of Mudfish. 307 
fin. Caudal fin rounded, as long as the head (without snout) ; 
pectoral somewhat shorter. 
Brown, with irregular blackish transverse spots. 
Total length 54 inches. 
The peculiar circumstances under which the specimen was 
obtained are best explained in the following letter, by which it 
was accompanied :— 
** Geological Survey Office and Colonial Museum, 
“Wellington, 27th July, 1867. 
** Dear Sir, : 
** At the request of His Excellency Sir George Grey, I forward a 
specimen of a fish which is found under peculiar circumstances near 
Hokitika, on the west coast of the province of Canterbury, with a 
request that, if it proves to be a subject of interest, you will describe 
it and deposit it in the British Museum. I also enclose a pencil- 
sketch of the same specimen, which was found at a depth of 4 feet 
from the surface, in a stiff clay imbedding roots of trees. The 
locality is 37 feet above the level of the Hokitika River, and three 
miles from the sea, and has at one time been a backwater of the 
river during floods. The gold-fields township of Kaneiri is now built 
upon it; but little more than two years ago it was a swamp covered 
with dense forest, The surface of stiff clay rests on a deep deposit 
of gravel, which has been pierced in all directions by the gold- 
miners ; so that, during the above period, no surface- or river-water 
could have collected, and the original swamp has disappeared. 
**Mr. Schaw, the warden of the district, to whom I am indebted 
for my information, has examined seven or eight specimens of this 
fish, and assures me that they occur enclosed in hollows in the clay; 
and that, although when first extracted they moved freely, if placed 
in water they get sluggish and soon die. The specimens seen vary 
from 3 to 7 inches in length. 
“That a fish should survive when imbedded in clay for months 
or even years, is a matter of familiar experience ; and it is not diffi- 
cult to conceive how these fish might, on the desiccation of the 
swamps, get into the position in which they are found, by following 
crevices among the roots of trees; and I believe that the early 
settlers in New Zealand were frequently much astonished by digging 
up fish along with the potatoes they had planted in the rich swampy 
* land—a natural bounty which they were not prepared for. 
‘IT am sorry I cannot send you specimens of the fish from the 
neighbouring waters for comparison; but I believe you will find it 
to be only an abnormal form of some commonly recognized species. 
**T remain, 
* Yours faithfully, 
“ Dr. Giinther, F.R.S., ‘James HEcTOR.”’ 
“ British Museum.” 
The last surmise of Dr. Hector is natural enough, and would 
21* 
