-1 Contribution to the Ilistori/ of PlagyoiliH. 35 



I'7. Ci'r(ifrichi(i? stelluta, Mai). 



S , Rabai, 7th Juno, I'JOD. 



It has been suggested by Dr. Holland that my C. punctu- 

 lata may be a variety of this species ; but I think, if he 

 couhl compare the two, he would alter this, I will not say 

 opinion — tor he does not speak with decision, — but perhaps 

 view would be the word to use. (7. punclulata is a more 

 robust species, without cheriuercd but with S[)otted fringes, 

 and with no ochreous colouring below ; the spots on the under 

 surface are chalky white without dark borders and the veins 

 are whitish. 



IV. — A Contrihntion to the lii.storij of Plagyodus {Steller) . 

 By Dr. A. GuNTHiiii, F.R.S. 



In the March number of this Journal for 1867 I showel that 

 the remarkable oceanic fish which Lowe described in 183-'? 

 under the name of Afepisaurus had already been known to 

 Steller (ca. 17-45), who named it Plai]yodas. Steller gave 

 a perfectly recognizable description of it, which was pub- 

 lished by Pallas in vol. iii. of the * Zoograpliia Rosso- 

 Asiatica' (1811) *. 



However, even Steller was not the Hrst observer w!io has 

 obtained and taken notice of this interesting type. Willirun 

 Funnell, who served as mate on Captain D.impier's E-Kpe- 

 dition into the South Seas in the years 1703-4, gives a 

 description and figure of it in his account of that enterprise 

 (' A Voyage round the World': London, 1707. 8°). He 

 says on page 6 : — " On October the 22d (being in the Lati- 

 tude of 6 d. 36 m. N. and Longitude Irom London \V. about 

 19 d. 57 m.) we caught four Hsh ; a Shark, a Dolphin, a 

 Jelly-fish and an Old-wife." He then proceeds to describe 

 these fishes, the passage referring to the Jelly-fish (p. 8) 

 running as follows: — "The Jelly-Ji-ih (see fig. III.) was 

 about fourteen inches long, and about 2 inches deep; with a 



♦ Messrs. Jordan and Evormann (Fish. N. & M. Amer. i. p. 094) call 

 it "a brief description"; it occupies a page of this jourual, and, what 

 is more, it is very niiich to the point. I have no di'sire to discuss the 

 ques'tion wliether Pltu/i/udiis, which in due form was introduced into zoolo- 

 irical liter.itiu'e l)y I'allas, should supersede Alepigaurus. or whether it 

 should be discarded, because (as is pretended) names formed by Steller 

 are to be estimated as " mouononiial designations " rather than generic 

 terms ! 



