OCCASIONAL NOTES. 23 



caught for teu days or a fortnight, because our fishermen of Penzance have 

 noticed during that period an unusual scarcity of fish there. And, assuming 

 this to be so, it may point to some power on the part of the fish of ejecting 

 the contents of its stomach nnder the terror of capture. So far as I could 

 judge of the fish in its damaged condition, it was a flabby Ground Shark, 

 not a Sarimmeo. — Thomas Coknish (Penzance). 



The Dorse, or Golden Cod, on the Banffshire Coast.— A fine 

 specimen of the Dorse, Gadus callarius, was taken in the Bay of Cullen, 

 a small town on the Banffshire coast, on December 3rd. Examples have 

 been met with both in England and Ireland, but though a northern species 

 I am not aware of its being met with before in Scotland. As it is a rare 

 visitor to Britain, and apparently but little known, perhaps a brief account 

 of the specimen in question may be worth recording. The description is 

 as follows :— Length nearly 2 feet ; circumference across the middle of first 

 dorsal fin, 12i inches ; length of head, 4f inches ; fin rays— first dorsal 19, 

 second and third rays the longest ; second dorsal 20, fourth, fifth and sixth 

 the longest; third dorsal 21, seventh and eighth the longest; pectoral 18, 

 third and fourth longest ; ventral 7, third longest; first anal 31, seventh) 

 eighth and ninth longest ; second anal 20, fifth, sixth and seventh longest. 

 The caudal, which was slightly forked, being injured, I could not make out 

 the exact number there, but I think there were over forty. The colour of 

 the fish above and descending slightly below the lateral lines, as also on the 

 top of the head, was of a beautiful golden yellow ; the sides were of a silvery 

 hue, which extended to the belly and on to the cheeks. All the fins and tail 

 were likewise tinged with a delicate golden hue. The sides and head had 

 a few dark markings here and there : the whole, however, had a very glossy 

 and metallic lustre. The head was of a very peculiar shape, the sides 

 being literally perpendicular, whilst the crown from about an inch and a 

 half from the mouth to beyond the eyes was perfectly flat. It then rose 

 into a rather sharp ridge, which extended back to the first dorsal fin. The 

 mouth appeared very small for the size of the fish, the gape being only 

 about an inch and a quarter. The barbel was scarcely a quarter of an inch 

 in length. Both jaws were armed with very minute teeth, a few on the 

 vomer, but none on the tongue. The eye was very large, fully an inch and 

 a half across. The lateral line in this case had two slight curves, one 

 upwards above the end of the pectoral, the other downwards from near the 

 end of the second to about the middle of the third dorsal, then straight to 

 the tail. The upper jaw projects considerably beyond the lower. The head 

 as a whole looks rather diminutive for the body of the fish ; at least, so it 

 appears to me. The stomach contained live crabs, — a Cleanser Crab aud a 

 minute Porcelain Crab,— thus showing that the fish had been feeding along 

 shore.— Thomas Edward (Bauff). 



