80 



origin of Bloch's figure ; but it is to be observed that Mr. Hawken 

 sent a specimen as well as a drawing of the fish he received from Goa ; 

 that his specimen was only 2^ feet long, and the Cornish specimen 

 8^ feet. See Cuvier, Hist. Poissons, x. 374. 



Dr. Shaw (Zool. iv. 197) informs us that the drawing of Gymnetrus 

 Hawkenii was communicated by " J. Hawkins, Esq. ;" and he added, 

 " I am assured by Mr. Hawkins that this is really the case (the tail 

 being added by the draughtsman), the specimen from which the 

 drawing was taken having been defective in that part." 



From this examination I conclude that these accounts are all from 

 the specimen and figure in Pennant. 



In the same copy of Pennant's ' British Zoology ' occurs the follow- 

 ing note and figure, which is here copied two-thirds the size : — 



" ' York, March 29, '96. — On Friday last a curious and uncommon 

 fish came on shore at Filey Bay, and was taken by four women ; they 

 sold it to a man who brought it to this city ; it was 1 3^ feet in length, 

 rather more than one foot in depth, and not more than 3 inches in 

 thickness. Its skin was smooth and of a silver hue : had no tail, and 

 its fins were the colour of those of the roach or perch. It may be 

 considered as a nondescript, neither Linnaeus, Pennant, or any other 

 writers on Ichthyology having given any description of it.' 



" This paragraph is cut from the York Chronicle of last Thursday, 

 and the enclosed I traced from a drawing by Dr. Burgh, who penned 

 the paragraph and made the following notes on his drawing." — J. F. 



"13 feet long, 1 deep, 3 inches thick ; head 7 inches long ; eye If 

 diam. ; no scales, but very small protuberances, silvered over like the 

 swim of a herring ; these run the whole length in stripes, alternate 

 with others which are bare, and of a light colour. 



" The dorsal fin runs the whole way from the head to the other 

 end, at which there is no tail. The dorsal fin is red, like that of a 

 roach or perch ; 6 bronchial rays ; dorsal fin 290 and 13 rays ; the 



