43G REPORT — 1867. 



85 fathoms, ou a soft saudy bottom, twenty-live miles N.N.W. of Unst, I 

 found the canine tooth of an animal of the weasel tribe ; and Mr. "Waller found 

 the shoulder-blade of a much smaller quadruped. These occurred within a 

 comparatively small space, although not together, and they were unaccom- 

 panied by any other land organisms. The socket of the tooth and the bone 

 were eroded. It is possible that the tooth was that of a tame ferret, which was 

 accidentally killed in 1862 and thrown into the sea in Balta Sound, at a dis- 

 tance of about thirty-five miles from the place where the tooth Avas dredged. The 

 tide sets with great rapidity in that directioa ; and when the carcase became 

 distended by the gases evolved during putrefaction, it must have floated for 

 some time. The bone is supposed by ^ilr. Eoyd Dawkius to be that of a bat ; 

 this may have been eaten by a snowy owl, and disgorged or voided on its way 

 back to the Faroe Isles or Iceland. I mention this curious circumstance to 

 show that some bones of quadrupeds as well as of man may be preserved for a 

 long time iu " the slimy bottom of the deep," without being disturbed by the 

 naturalist. When we consider the vast extent of the sea- bed, and the very 

 trifling and unfrequent operations of the dredge (the one being measured by 

 square nautical degrees, and the other by square yards), we ought not to be 

 surprised that the remains of drowned mariners — at least their teeth — are not 

 thus brought to light. Clarence's dream (the creation of a sublime poet) is 

 never likely to be verified by modern research. 



I have had much pleasiu-e in presenting a collection of the rarer shells to 

 our national Museum. 



Subjoined are letters from Dr. Giinther and Mr. Boyd Dawkius :— 



"Deak Sir, — The fishes collected by you by means of the dredge, at a 

 depth of from 80 to 90 fathoms, at the Shetland Islands, belong to four species, 

 all being new to the British faima. Singularly enough, tvro belong to Me- 

 diterranean species — viz. a Dragonet, CaUionymiis mactdatus (Bonap.) and a 

 Sand-Launce, A)iuiwdi/tes sinihis (Swains.). The two others appear to be un- 

 described: one is a llockling, distinguished by its very large ej'cs, for which 

 I propose the name of Motdla macroj)lithalma ; the second a Gobj', which I 

 dedicate to its discoverer render the name of Gohiu^ Jcffrei/siL I will furnish 

 you with descriptions of the two new species, and remain 



"Yours very truly, 



''J. Gwi/n Jefrei/s, Esq., F.ll.S." " A. Gunthek." 



" Upminster, Romfoixl, Essex. 

 "August 28, 1867. 



"Mi' DEAR Sin, — I have carefully examined the remains found under such 

 interesting circumstances. The tooth approaches nearer to the left lower 

 canine of the ferret {Piitorins furo) than to any other teeth in the Museum of 

 the CoUege of Surgeons. From so small a portion I can hardly infer the species 

 of the animal ; but if its possessor was not a Ferret, he was a Ferret's fir.st 

 cousin, one of the Mustelines, who died in the prime of life. The corrosion of 

 the fang is very curious, and cannot be the result of the waste of the sea : it 

 seems to be the result of the action of an acid, which has been prevented from 

 attacking the crown b)- the crj'stalliue structure of the enamel. Nearly all 

 the gelatine has disa])pcared from the fang. Its age would be best arrived at 

 by the character of the sea-bottom. If from a muddy deposit, probably it is 

 of that age ; if from a rocky bottom, its age is altogether uncertain. It is not 

 more recent-looking than many of the Pleistocene bones I have dug out of 

 caverns. The second fragment seems to be a portion of the scapula of a bat ; 

 but its condition does not allow of a very accurate determination. If the two 



