THE TORPEDO. 2o i 



visit), that one or two of these lish are occasionally taken there in the course of 

 a year. But in regard to species, the author in this communication describes a 

 torpedo received from Brixham, which is certainly the same as the specimen 

 under consideration. He observes, ' the back of it was of a dark ash-colour, 

 with somewhat of a purple cast, but not at all mottled,* like those of the Atlantic 

 coast of France, nor regularly marked with eyes, as they have been called, like 

 some found in the Mediterranean. Its under part was white, skirted, however, 

 with the same ash-colour, which towards its tail becomes almost universal. The 

 side-fins being a little contracted and curled up, prevented the precise measure- 

 ment of its breadth, but it appeared to hold the general proportion observed in 

 those of La Rochelle ; that is, the breadth was two-thirds of its length,' p. 465. 

 Bloch's figure represents a different fish from the present one. Pennant copies 

 Walsh's plate illustrative of the French specimens. f Donovan (vol. iii. pi. 53) 

 does not inform us whence his figure was taken, but that it was not drawn from 

 a recent individual may be inferred from the only original information he gives 

 of the torpedo as a British species, being — ' we can further say, upon the best 

 authority, that this species has been more than once taken upon the sandy coasts 

 rear Tenby, in Pembrokeshire, South Wales.' His figure exhibits five spots, 

 the spiracles notched, and the tail somewhat longer than that of the specimen 

 before me. Risso's Torp. unimaculata and T. marmorata, fig. 8 and 9, tom. iii. 

 ed. 1826, appear very different from my fish — the former displays spiracles with 

 an even or circular margin; the latter has them notched. Blainville (Faune 

 FranQaise, p. 45) considers the Tor}), narke, T. unimaculata, and T. marmorata, 

 described as distinct species by Risso, to be only varieties of one. Blainville 

 figures the three ; the two last are longer-tailed than mine. T. marmorata ap- 

 proaches it more nearly in form, but is less clumsy : the spiracles are in all three 

 represented as notched. Fleming (Brit. Anim.), not having seen specimens, de- 

 scribes from other authors. In the Phil. Trans, for 1834 (p. 542), Dr. Davy 

 states that the Torj]. marmorata, Risso, and T. Galvani, Risso, are identical — ■ 

 in this memoir two Mediterranean species are described, of which this one only 

 approaches the specimen before me. Jenyns (p. 509) considers the British 

 species of torpedo to be undetermined, as likewise does Yarrell, whose figure 

 (vol. ii. p. 410) we may therefore presume has not been made from a native 

 specimen. 



" Of Dr. Jacob's torpedo, which is a female, the entire length is 34, the greatest 

 breadth 23 inches ; breadth across the ventrals 9~ inches. The body is rounder 

 and forms a greater portion of the whole than in Yarrell's figure (and still more 

 so than in Willughby's, which tlie author just mentioned considers the same as 

 his) ; it is 19^ inches long from the anterior extremity to the part of the body 

 which is on a line with the extremity of the pectorals, and 14^ inches thence to 

 the end of the caudal fin. The first dorsal fin, which is 3 inches in height, ex- 

 tends for 2 mches along the trunk of the tail, and terminates nearly on the same 

 plane with the ventrals; the second dorsal fin originates about 1^ inch behind 

 the first ; it is 2| inches m height, occupies If inch of the tail, and extends 

 within 1 1 inch of the origin of the caudal fin — it thus nearly occupies the portion 

 between the ventral and caudal fins : C. fin 5 inches in length, upper lobe the 

 larger. Eyes minute, \ inch long and about the same broad, 2 inches 10 lines 

 from the anterior edge of the body, 2 inches 4 lines apart ; spiracle opening, cir- 

 cular or withoiit tooth-like processes ; a fimbriated process about an inch within 

 the margin ; several rows of small sharp teeth ; vent about the middle of body 

 within the ventral fins. Colour of the entire upper surface uniform reddish-grey, 

 with obscure and small markings of a darker shade ; a single dark spot ~ inch 

 m diameter on the body a little to the left of the middle of the body ; under side 

 rich chalk-white, prettily bordered with reddish-grey, which colour forms a band 



* Small dark markings appear scattered over both upper and under side in 

 Mr. Walsh's figures. 



t Pennant describes the spiracles of a torpedo which came under his observa- 

 tion, as having " six small cutaneous rays on their inner circumference." 



