yarrell's blenny. 109 



I have never met with this sp. on the shore or in rock-pools accessible 

 between tide-marks where the B. pholis is so common ; nor have I known 

 it to be taken by dredging or trawling on our coast. The remark already 

 made on the depth at which it is taken is interesting, and with my nega- 

 tive observations, indicate its being a deep-water sp. Mr. Couch too, I 

 find, mentions it keeping " in the neighbourhood of rocks in water 4 or 5 

 fathoms' depth," on the coast of Cornwall. 



Yarrell's Blenny, Blenniiis YarrelUi, Val., 



Has been obtained in one locality. 



The only Irish specimens of this fish which I have seen are two which 

 were taken by the collectors of the Ord. Surv. at Carrickfergus in May, 

 1839, and'which were kindly submitted to my inspection by Colonel Portlock, 

 that the species might be included in my lieport on the Fauna of Ireland. 



The following are my notes made upon examination of these fishes : — 



1st specimen. — 7^ inches, depth of body 1 inch. D. fin in height 

 full half the depth of body ; D. 52, in height very uniform throughout, 

 but the 3 first rays somewhat the longest and adorned with filaments 

 two-thirds of their length ; 1st ray with its filament 13 lines long ; next 2 

 gradually shorter; 2nd ray longer than 1st, but filament of 1st rather ex- 

 ceeding that of 2nd — it may not be perfect ; 1 and 2 with filament may 

 be reckoned much the same. A. 40. 1st ray very short, thence much of 

 an uniform length till near the end, where they become rather large, the 

 rays barely equal in length to the D. 



P. 14; V. 3; C. 17 in all; some of the long rays reckoned as two 

 apparently joined at bases. Anterior filaments 2 lines, posterior 5 lines 

 long, Br. rays 5 on each side. 



Between the eye and lip on each side is an appendage of H line long. 



2nd specimen. — Length 5^ inches, depth of body 9 lines. 1). 52 ; A. 

 38 ; V. 3 ; P. 13 ; C. 18 in all, and as above. Br. rays 5 on each side. 

 The larger fish is in colour darker throughout on body and fins than this. 



An Orkney specimen given to me in 1840, being one of several taken 

 under stones at Kirkwall Bay, Orkney, by Dr. Duguid, was 4f inches 

 long ; D. 54 ; filaments to anterior rays hardly perceptible though the fin 

 is perfect. A. 39 ; V. 3 ; P. 14 ; C. 19 in all. 



One of the best figures of Fish in Pennant's Brit. Zool. is of this species, 

 imder the name of Crested Blenny. The white base of the A. fin is well 

 shown, and though not just so well, this colour is represented nearly as 

 it appears in the D. fin. In the smaller Irish specimen these fins had 

 much more of the white than in the larger. 



In June, 1846, Professor Allman obtained a mutilated blenny, thrown 

 up by the tide among sea-weed at Dalkey, which appeared to him to re- 

 semble this species more nearly than it did any of the others figured by 

 Mr. Yarrell. Dr. Ball also examined the specimen, and was of oi)inI()n that 

 it was the B. YarrelUi, but it was so much injured that he could not 

 determine the species with certainty. 



James Hill, a fisherman at Newcastle (County Down), on looking over 

 the figures in Mr. Yarrell's British Fishes, informed me in October, 1851, 

 that when searching for limpets he had seen this blenny among the sea- 

 weed covering the rocks in that localitv. 



