CORRESPONDENCE OF RAY. 245 



Mr. E.AY to Dr. Robinson. 



Sir, — What you write of the Pectunculites found in 

 England I grant to be true, in comparison with any Pec- 

 tunculi commonly known ; but there may be such species 

 found in our seas which do not appear, but lie among 

 rocks, or in great depths ; and that this is not a mere 

 subterfuge, and altogether gratis dictum, I will give you 

 an instance of a testaceous fish — that is the Echinus 

 marinus — three or four whereof Mr. Willughby and 

 myseK found, and took up alive in the sea, among the 

 rocks between the Isle and Calf of Man, of that kind and 

 bigness as I never heard before to have been found cast 

 upon om' shores, or drawn out of the sea by om^ fisher- 

 men. They were as big as both my fists. I have seen 

 of them in Italy. 



You must excuse me if I think the nautili shells, that 

 are frequent in musemns, are entire shells, and not broken 

 pieces ; for in such as I have seen there is no appearance 

 of any fracture, and the enormous wideness of the mouth 

 argues it not to be broken. And, besides, I myself have 

 taken up on the shores of the Mediterranean small 

 nautilus shells, of the striate kind, entire, which, for the 

 shape and turn, were like to the common great nautilus 

 shells. 



How the cetaceous fishes raise, sink, and poise them- 

 selves in the water is, I think, clear enough, and the 

 dolphin, you know, is of that kind ; and for the other 

 fish you mention out of Francisco Redi, the Centrina, 

 Skate, and Torpedo, are cartilaginous. Of the rest I 

 do not find mention in my notes of any swimming-blad- 

 der they had, excepting the Uranoscopus, which I do 

 expressly say had a small one. Those fishes are farther 

 to be examined. The Lamprey, I believe, cannot raise 

 itself up in the water, and I doubt whether the Bull-head 

 do or can. 



As for the contrary currents at the Straits, if they be 



