ZOOLOGY. 267 



ACANTHIAS SUCKLEYI, Grd. 

 Western Dog-fish. 



Sr. Ch. — Head constituting somewhat more than the sixth of the entire length. Snout very much depressed and 

 elongated ; nostrils nearer its apex than the angle of the mouth. Eyes large, elliptical, situated immediately in advance of 

 the mouth. Anterior margin of first dorsaJ fin nearly equidistant between the pupil and the anterior margin of the second 

 dorsal. A shallow caudal groove along the base of the upper lobe of the caudal. Dark grayish, with a few light irregularly 

 scattered spots. 



Stn. — Spinax (Acanthias) suckkyi, Grd in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VII, 1854, 196. — Ibid. Gen. Rep Fishes, p. 368. 



This shark is common at Shoalwater bay, and, in habits, seems to resemble closely its 

 Atlantic congeners, being also commonly known by the same name, "dog-fish." It is equally 

 troublesome to persons fishing in deep water, as it bites at anything used for bait, and, indeed, 

 on the only occasion when I tried that style of fishing, it formed the principal part of our 

 captures. Its usual size is from three to four feet long. 



Its colors, when fresh, are as follows: Adult, pale liver-color above, with white spots, beneath 

 white; slight bronze reflections above; iris pale sea-green. Young, grayish-brown above, with 

 more brilliant gold-bronze tints, especially near the tail, spots purplish white; dorsal fin and 

 tail tipped with brick red, more or less blood red on lower lobe of tail and belly, fading 

 anteriorly; belly white, with gold reflections. These are the colors of the young when just 

 produced. The specimens were caught in October and November. — C. 



The present dog-fish is found abundantly in the waters of Puget Sound, and at certain 

 seasons of the year repairs in vast numbers to the more shallow bays and flats ofi' the mouths of 

 its afiiuent streams. They attain, when adult, an average size of about three and a half or four 

 feet; they are a voracious fish, readily caught with hook and line, and are not unfrequently 

 taken by the natives with spears; their livers are large and very fat, the oil furnished by them 

 being highly prized by the natives. It is for this latter that they are generally taken. The 

 whites get much of the oil in trade, and use it for all purposes to which whale oil is applied. 

 I have been assured, by an intelligent oil refiner, that the oil of this fish, when properly refined, 

 is of a very excellent quality. I have used it, when/res/*, as a substitute for cod-liver oil, as a 

 medicine for consumptive patients. It seemed equally efiicacious, and, in one or two cases, 

 where the procurement of the latter was impossible, I was led to believe that it saved the 

 lives of those taking it. It was given, with alcoholic liquors, in doses, commencing at two 

 teaspoonfuls, increased gradually to a wine glass full, three times a A&y. 



I obtained many specimens of the young, which, although six or eight inches long, were still 

 attached by an umbilical cord to the ' ' yolk-bag. ' ' 



Note. — A very large shark was captured at Port Discovery in December, 1856. My 

 informants told me that from its liver four barrels of oil were extracted 1 Mr. Gibbs 

 subsquently obtained the skeleton and transmitted it to the national collection. Large sharks 

 are very rare in Puget Sound; so rare that it is not improbable that they are stragglers which 

 have followed the warm ''Pacific gulf stream" from more southern regions. 



RAJA COOPERI, Grd. 



TUe Nortlitvestem Skate. 



Raja cooperi, Grd. Gen. Hep. Fishes, p. 372. 

 Length from tip of snout to root of tail, three feet six inches. Length of tail, two feet. Breadth across middle of belly, 

 four feet two inches. Tip of snout to margin of mouth, eleven inches. Color, above entirely dark brown ; below dull white. 



