88 ACANTHOPTERYGII. 



tains its place, and in the parts of the river frequented by it I have in 

 vain looked for the stickleback. 



The figure of G. hrachycentms in the Hist, des Poiss. resembles the 

 Irish fish when in spawn, and not its usual appearance. 



In addition to that fish, there is another 3-spined stickleback, brought 

 by M. Savigny from the brooks of Tuscany, described as new in the 

 Hist, des Poiss. — from its brilliant operculum, it is named G. aroi/ropomiis. 

 In this and the other characters assigned to it, Irish specimens in my pos- 

 session fully accord. It is suggested, indeed, with reference to the cha- 

 racters attributed to this and the tAvo other Gasterostei — G. bradiycentrus 

 and G. tetracanthus — brought by M. Savigny from Tuscany — "Nous 

 allons les indiquer, pour engager les observateurs d s'assurer de leur con- 

 stance," p. 498. In the next page it is, however, remarked of G. brachij- 

 centrus, that there is no doubt of its being a true species.* 



FoUR-SPiNED Stickleback, G. spinuhsus, Yarr. and Jenyns. 



Among specimens of Gasterostei kindly procured for me at La Bergerie, 

 near Portarlington, Queen's County, by the Rev. B. J. Clarke, is an indi- 

 vidual with four spines. It is 1^^ inch long; the first and second spines 

 are of ordinary length ; the third spine is short, but exceeding the fourth. 

 In no other character than that of having four spines does this fish differ 

 from the 3-spined examples taken with it, and consequently I cannot 

 look upon it otherwise than merely an accidental variety of G. aculeatus, 

 Linn. It was among a parcel consisting of G. leiiirus, G. brachi/centrus, 

 and G. Punr/itins, taken in a pond and in some neighbouring drains. The 

 "ascending plate from the base of the ventrals " (see Jenyns's Manual, p. 

 350) I find subject to variety of form like other parts. 



That the fish under consideration is the G. spinuhsus seems to me not 

 to admit of doubt.f 



This stickleback is very bold and voracious, and will attack any living 

 object it can master : in illustration of this, I may mention that, in 

 August, 1844. a small party of these fishes were observed near Belfast, 

 in the act of killing a horse-leech, the head of which they immediately 

 devoured. 



In Nov., 1851, a specimen of the 3-spined stickleback was taken from the 

 stomach of a Iledbreasted Merganser [3Iert/us serrator) shot in Belfast Bay. 



At the end of May, and during June, I have remarked the spawn just 

 ready for exclusion, in examples taken about Belfast. 



The following is an extract from a letter, dated at Innistioge, 13th 

 Aug., '46, which I received from Professor AUman: — 



" I have been looking a little to the sticklebacks which I happened to 

 meet with in my rambles, and find that throughout a great part of Tip- 

 perary, Queen's Co., and Kilkenny, the Gast. leiurus is the predominant 

 species. I have not once found G. trachurus nor semiarmatus. I have 



* The different varieties of the 3-spined stickleback are commonly known in 

 the North of Ireland by the name of spricklebag, evidently a corruption of the 

 proper term ; Pinkeen is applied to them in the South ; and from the Shannon 

 they have been sent to me under the name of Thornback. 



t " Since the above was written, I have been gratified to find that my friend 

 Dr. Johnston, in a List of the Fishes of Berwickshire, exclusive of the ' Sal- 

 mones,' considers the G. spi^iulosus a variety only of the 3-spined species — of 

 these he notices the ' Rough-tailed, Half-armed, and Smooth-tailed Sticklebacks' 

 of Yarrell, as varieties only of one species. (See Report of the Berwickshire 

 Naturalists' Club for 1838, p. 171.)" 



