46 
MR. G. SIM ON THE OCCURRENCE ETC. OF 
from tho stomach of the "Witch-Sole ; it is not, so far as I am 
aware, described in any British work, and it therefore remains 
unnamed. 
In Sessile-eyed Crustacea of the orders Amphipoda and Isopoda 
the ground is very rich. As to the identity of Anonyx denti- 
culata, Hyper a galba, and Arcturus longicornis there is no 
doubt; but many others are in my possession which are not 
yet identified. Pycnogonum littorale is abundant. 
Turning to Molluscan life, the list is a fairly large one. First 
of all, on account of its numbers, delicate structure, and fine sculp- 
turing, comes that lovely little form PTiiline scabra, followed by 
Nucula nitida , Solen pellucidus, Tellina fabula , Scrobicularia 
prismatica, Psammobia Ferroensis, Ponax anatinus , A lactra stul- 
torum and Af. solida, Pleurotoma turricula , Tornatella fasciata , 
Dentalium entale, Venus lincta, and AporrJiais pes-pelicani ; while 
Pholas crispata finds a congenial home in the easily perforated peat. 
Many other shells have been seen, but not living; so that in 
all likelihood they have been merely washed by the waves to 
the “Witch Ground” after the death of their occupants. 
Food-fishes other than the Witch-Sole are scarce and of bad 
quality along this ground ; and, according to the trawl-fishers, 
many of the Cod and Haddock caught there have some wound 
upon them, or are otherwise lean and out of condition. For this 
reason some of the fishermen give this hollow the name of the “ Fish 
Hospital,” because they think the sickly fish have come in so 
that they might heal their sores and recruit their strength. 
Such, then, is an outline, necessarily very imperfect, of the 
living organisms which frequent the ground which Lumpenus 
haunts and in which it burrows. For the latter statement 
there is perhaps no absolute proof; but that it is fossorial 
lam strongly inclined to think, from the fact of its always being 
caught by the trawl ground-rope. In the narrow openings 
between the outer coils of this rope it is generally firmly jammed, 
invariably accompanied by masses of sand, mud, and peat, of 
which, as already stated, the bottom is composed. 
It would seem that the ground-rope, in cutting through the 
uneven surface, comes upon Lumpenus in its retreat, and fixes the 
creature in its folds before there is any chance of escape. Were 
the fish a free-swimmer only, the chances are very slight for such 
a slender form to be caught at all. 
