244 PLECTOGNATIII. 



Dr. Ball informed me of an Ortli. 3Io!it being taken at the end of June, 

 1839, off Arklow, County of Wicklow. It measured 4 feet in length and 

 weighed If cwt. 



This fish was very fully described in an excellent communication made 

 to the 4th vol. of Charlesworth's Mag. Nat. Hist. p. 235, by Dr. Belling- 

 ham of Dublin, to which the reader is referred. Four species of Entozoa 

 found in it are also particularly noticed. I learned from Captain Walker, 

 in 1846, that large sj^ecimens of the short sun-fish have occurred on the 

 "Wexford coast. 



Between the years 1818 and 1825 Dr. Ball saw off the coast at Youghal 

 five of these fishes, three of which he preserved. When on a visit to him 

 in July, 1834, we saw for some time at a little distance the D. fin of a fish 

 above the surface of the water, which there could not be a doubt was 

 O. 3Iola. 



Two of the specimens which Dr. Ball had procured attracted attention 

 by the fin being thus seen above the surface, and were captured with a 



Dr. Harvey tells us that he believes a specimen occurred in Cork Har- 

 bour in 1837 (Cork Fauna). 



Mr. J. D. Humphrey mentions that three were taken in September, 

 1846, two off Cork Harliour and one off Youghal : in one of the fonner 

 several Tn'toino coccinemn were found. 



An example taken in Connemara, and weighing 6 cwt. 42 lbs., is de- 

 scribed by Captain Bedford, R. N. See Illustrated London Reading 

 Book, p. 170, published at office Illust. Lond. News, 1850. 



The immense specimen in British Museum is noticed in Zool. Proc, 

 1849, p. 6. 



The Oblong Sun-fish, OrtJuu/oriscus oUongus, Schn., 



Has been once at least obtained on the coast. 



A specimen of this fish was, at the end of September, 1845, found by a 

 peasant among a mass of sea-weed on the coast near Tramore, County of 

 Waterford, and being seen by Mr. Trevor E. James, a gentleman con- 

 nected with the Geological Survey of Ireland, was fortunately secured by 

 him. It was given by that gentleman to Dr. Farran, by whom it was 

 presented to the Nat. Hist. Soc. of Dublin, and who kindly wi'ote me of 

 its occurrence at the time. Mr. Andrews, the secretary of the society just 

 named, tbew up a minute description of the specimen, which was read to 

 the society and published in Saunders' News Letter of Nov. 17th, 1845. 



Dr. Harvey favoured me with the following note, in 1847 : — 



" Orthaf/ori.scus oblu/it/Ks, Mr. Samuel Wright states that he took at 

 Youghal in 1.S37. Its weight was about 112 lbs. He says it exactly cor- 

 responded with the Ohhinf/ Sun-Jisli of Shaw's Zoology, vol. v. part i. 

 pi. 176." ' 



There is a specimen of the oblong sun-fish in the Dublin University 

 Museum, supposed to be a native one, taken at Wexford, as indicated by 

 an old list of donations. 



ORDER v.— SCLERODERMI. 



The File-fish (BaUstes cajrHscus, Gmel.) has been obtained at Galway by 

 Professor Melville, about two years ago. — R. Ball, 1855. 



