August 2, 1883] 



NA TURE 



3i5 



fishes shown by T. E. Gunn and Mr. Carr are noticeable ; 

 but of very great interest is the large and nearly complete 

 collection of British fishes exhibited by Dr. Francis Day, 

 they are of special value as being a set of types used 

 by Dr. Day for his work on the fishes of Great Britain 

 and Ireland at present in course of publication. A few 

 interesting Mediterranean species of fish may be seen in 

 the magnificent series of Invertebrata shown by Prof. 

 Anton Dohrn, founder and head of the Zoological St ition 

 at Naples ; amongst them are two specimens of Calliony- 

 mus partenopatts, Gigl., the young of Scymnus lichia, 

 Centrina Salviani, Scyllitim stellarc, and Myliobatis 

 bovina ; a Fierasfer imberbis is shown in the act of 

 getting into a large Holothuria, whilst a specimen of the 

 rare Fierasfer dentatus is of special interest. Good skele- 

 tons in alcohol of Ceratodus Forsteri and Cestracion 

 Philippii are exhibited by Mr. Gerard, jun., and some 

 well mounted disarticulated crania of fish are shown by 

 Mr. Moore. 



Besides a large set of the admirable casts of the more 

 conspicuous of their food-fishes, and a splendid series of 

 large photographs of many typical forms of their rich 

 ichthyo-fauna, the United States (National Museum and 

 Fisheries Commission of Washington, both under the 

 able and energetic direction of Prof. Baird) exhibit a 

 most interesting and complete series of type representa- 

 tives of the freshwater genera of North America ; the 

 series embraces 173 species, amongst which the Ganoids, 

 so well represented in that region, as Amia, Lepidostcus, 

 Spatularia, Scaphirhynchns, and Acipenser deserve special 

 notice. A collection of thirty-eight nominal species of 

 American Salmonoids are also exhibited, and an interest- 

 ing set they are ; these two sets are mostly represented 

 by specimens preserved in alcohol. The National Mu- 

 seum of Washington has also sent over a fine and highly 

 interesting collection of the fishes of Alaska and another 

 of those of the Gulf of Mexico and East Florida, all 

 alcoholic specimens, and not exhibited from want of 

 space. Prof. Brown Goode kindly showed me some of 

 them ; the former contains about 100 species, the latter 

 159. The Alaskan collection is of special interest, and 

 contains many species recently described by Goode, Bean, 

 and other ichthyologists. 



In the Canadian Court a numerous series of mounted 

 and alcoholic fish is exhibited, mostly freshwater and 

 well known food-fishes ; large specimens of Salmonids, 

 Clupeidae, Esocidae, Sturgeons, and Halibuts may be 

 seen, and a curious Ltemargus borealis and a very large 

 Orcy/tus ihynnus deserve notice. Some very large Cod 

 may be mentioned in the Newfoundland Court, whilst on 

 the other side of the equator in the new continent, Chili 

 shows a collection of food-fishes, principally marine and 

 from Juan Fernandez, the highly esteemed " Peje Rey " 

 (Atherinichthys) and Heliasles crusma, a large represen- 

 tee of our interesting Mediterranean species, may be 

 recorded. 



Sweden shows a magnificent collection of her Salmon- 

 idae, large and beautiful specimens wonderfully preserved 

 in alcohol in the finest of glass jars ; an interesting series 

 of types and embryos and larval fish is besides shown by 

 the Gothenburg Museum, but of special interest is the Vega 

 collection from the Arctic seaboard. In the Russian 

 Court a good collection of mounted fish is exhibited, 



amongst which are to be noticed a large Sihtrus giants, a 

 fine Hippoglossus, very fine and large specimens of Lucio- 

 perca sandra, an excellent food- fish, which with greater 

 profit than the black bass of America might, I believe, be 

 introduced into British waters ; besides a fine set of the 

 various species of sturgeon which abound in Russian 

 waters, and lastly some good enlarged wax models illus- 

 trating the development of Acipenser and Pelromyzon. 



Norway again deserves notice as exhibiting some very 

 fine specimens of rare fish preserved in alcohol or 

 mounted ; I may particularly mention Argentina si! us, 

 Argyropelecus Olfersii, Sebastes norvegicus, with embryos 

 taken alive from the female, Raja niderosiensis (the type)> 

 Scymnus microcephalus, and a fine Opah {Lampris 

 guttatus). 



New South Wales (the Australian Museum of Sydney) 

 has one of the very best ichthyological exhibits ; besides 

 very beautifully mounted specimens, and very well pre- 

 served alcoholic ones, a set of splendid coloured drawings 

 from nature and of natural size, and a large series of 

 photographs of fish are exhibited. Most of the remark- 

 able forms and of the peculiar species of the fish-fauna 

 of Australia are represented. I may specially mention 

 those living fossils Ceratodus and Cestracion, both repre- 

 sented by two species, the former C. Forsteri and C. 

 miolepis, the latter C. Philippii and C. galeatus; Ceratodus 

 miolepis, exhibited in a dry skin, is the companion specimen 

 to the type. Amongst others of the many interesting species 

 exhibited may be mentioned Galocerdo Rayneri, Car- 

 charodon Rondelelii, Crossorhinus barbatus, RJiiuobatis 

 granulosus, Odontaspis taunts, Trygonorhina fasciata, 

 Myliobatis australis, Rhina squatina, Tetnnodon saltator, 

 the singular Glaucosoma, with its mussel-like opercular 

 appendage, &c. Some of the freshwater food-fish, as 

 Oligorus, Ctenolabris, and Therapon, are noticeable. A 

 remarkable sun- fish is also exhibited ; it differs from 

 our species in shape, in the size and form of the caudal 

 rays, and lastly in being covered with small carinate 

 horny scales, which appear to cover the osseous granula- 

 tions of the dermis ; I am inclined to think that it differs 

 from our O. viola, belongs to the southern hemisphere, 

 and if so, might go by the name of Orthragoriscus Ram- 

 sayi, as a just acknowledgment to Mr. E. P. Ramsay, 

 Curator of the Australian Museum, who brought it 

 over, and to whose intelligence and activity the splendid 

 exhibit of the New South Wales Court is entirely due. 



Tasmania shows a collection of stuffed and alcoholic 

 fishes, some very interesting. A fine Lophotcs eepedianus 

 deserves special notice, as also specimens of Galaxias, 

 Retrcpinna Richardsoni, Histiopterus recttrviroslris, P/iyl- 

 lopteryxfoliatus, and Pristiophorus cirratus. 



India exhibits a very large collection of mounted and 

 spirit specimens, from Madras and Bombay principally ; 

 worthy of special mention are fine specimens of Histio- 

 p/iorus gladius, H. be/one (?), Cybium guttatus, C. Ktthli, 

 Caranx sansun, Megalops indicus, Drepane punctata, 

 Corinemus lysan (so like our Lichia vadigo in appear- 

 ance), Polyphemus plebejus, Thynnus thuiuiina, the 

 beautiful Murana tessellata, Barbustor, Catla Buchanani, 

 Wallago attu, Macrones secnghala, and other peculiar 

 freshwater forms ; some interesting Elasmobranchs, as 

 Rhynchobatis djeddensis, Stegostoma tigri, Trygon uarnak, 

 and a Dicerobatis, very like the Mediterranean species. 



