188 Transactions. — Zoology. 



weight tlian the average (3 to 5 lbs.) which they mention. Dr. Comrie, 

 however, writes that S. paucidens runs from 5 to 6 lbs. and has a maximum 

 weight of 10 lbs. The teeth of this, the " weak-toothed" salmon, were not 

 easil_y found by me in the vomer and palatines of above specimen, possibly 

 on account of the "curing" of the fish. Possibly also the arched back 

 may be due to packing into small barrels. As they appear in the Dunedin 

 market, these fish are all as nearly as possible of the same weight, 6 to 

 7 lbs. ; whether this is accidental or not, I have not means at present of 

 determining. As food they are excellent. 



This fish, as well as the S. quinnat, among other things differs remark- 

 ably from the S. salar of British rivers in the size and shape of the sub- 

 operculum, which is very large relatively to the operculum and has a 

 rounded margin which, with the two joints, forms a figure approaching a 

 sector of a circle. This 8. paucidens likewise has no spots anywhere, and 

 the same may be said of several other specimens I have looked at of the 

 same fish. The tail also is very large and forked. 



The S. trutta from the Clyde, and which may now be seen in the Otago 

 Museum, I have compared with Dr. Giiuther's description of four specimens 

 from the river Tweed, varying in length from 18^ inches to 35 inches. 

 The relative length of the head to the body and the depth relatively to 

 length of body, without the caudal, agreed very well ; but all the fins of the 

 Clyde fish are larger than those of the Tweed sea-trout. The fin-rays of 

 the Clyde specimen are fewer by one or two — in the dorsal, pectoral, and 

 anal fins — than those given by Dr. Giinther ; the ventral being the same in 

 the number of rays. But they agree almost exactly with those given by 

 Yarrell. The gill-covers in form and the colours of the body fins agree with 

 the descriptions of those by Giinther and Yarrell. The difference in the 

 number of fin-rays from those given by Giinther is apparent rather than 

 actual, as the latter seems to have included the rudimentary or sub-rays, 

 which I have omitted. The vomerine teeth differ also in being nearly 

 all present in this Clyde specimen, while in the Tweed specimens of 

 Dr. Giinther they are only present in small numbers on head of vomer. 

 The fish, which undoubtedly is a sea-trout, is evidently not a mature fish 

 or rather not come to its full growth. Its general appearance suggests this 

 in the want of fullness of body, while the size of the tail and head and pre- 

 sence of so many vomerine teeth confirm the supposition. 



The sea-trout from Sawyer's Bay agrees in most of its markings with 

 the Clyde one described above, also with Giinther's and Yarrell's fish. It 

 is also identical with the stuffed S. trutta in the Otago museum, taken at 

 Otago Heads in 1874. That is to say, it has the correct and liberal coating 

 of bright silvery scales, the gill-covers are silvery, the back and all the fins 



