139 
much more than ordinarily kind and 
painstaking in my behalf, and in many 
ways this article represents more of his 
work than it does of mine. 
M. J. Senn van Basel, who was 
Consul-general in China for the Nether- 
lands about the year 1832, brought tog- 
ether a collection of Chinese paintings, 
four hundred and sixty in number, of 
which four hundred and forty represent- 
ed fishes. These pictures were sub- 
sequently presented to the University 
of Groningen, and about 1870 they 
were placed into the hands of the noted 
ichthyologist Pieter van Bleeker, 
until recently almost the only authority 
on the fishes of the farther East. 
Bleeker, with these pictures as a sole 
basis, wrote a paper, Memoire sur la 
Faune Ichthyologique de Chine‘ (Ne- 
derlandsch Tijdschrift f. Dierkunde, 
IV, 1873, p. 113—154) He therein 
established five new species, most of 
which have up to the present not been 
corroberated by actual specimens. In 
consequence ichthyologists have not 
generally seen fit to give recognition to 
the species so established. One of the 
species so described, and not since 
found, is Lepisosteus sinensis!. 
The pictures, after Bleeker fini- 
shed with them, seemingly remained 
undisturbed in the Library of the Uni- 
versity of Groningen until at my re- 
quest Professor van Bemmelen was 
so good as to look them up. He took 
the trouble to have the picture here in 
question photographed for me, and to 
have one print colored to correspond 
445 Toeux Spin 
E 
with the original painting. This picture is here reproduced. It is seen 
1 Bleeker of course wrote Lepidosteus. I use throughout this article the 
earlier, and among present-day ichthyologists generally accepted, spelling. 
47* 
