450 FISHES OF THE FIRTH OF FORTH. 



length of the caudal, the first rays stout and simple, the rest branched. 

 The fin rays in number are — 



1st D. 50 ; 2d D. 50 ; P. 16 ; V. 5 ; A. 43 ; C. 20 ; Vert. 52. 



Scales small, smooth and adherent, covering the head, body, and 

 membranes of the dorsal, caudal and anal fins ; lateral line distinct, 

 formed by a number of oval depressions placed at intervals from each 

 other, commencing over the operculum, taking a bend under the 

 ninth, tenth, and eleventh rays of the second dorsal fin, from thence 

 running straight to the middle ray of the caudal. Colours. — Back 

 and sides of a greyish-brown, belly dirty white ; second dorsal fin 

 edged with white, which is more apparent towards the caudal end ; 

 upper half of the caudal tipped with white ; pectorals, caudal, and 

 lower part of the dorsal dark brown, approaching to black ; anal and 

 ventrals dusky- 



Two well known species of Motella are frequently met 

 with on our coasts, the Motella quinquecirrata, and the Mo- 

 tella vulgaris, but I am not aware of the Motella, cimbria 

 (Gadus cimhrius of Linnaeus), having previously been no- 

 ticed as a British fish. It was found in June last, a little 

 to the east of Inchkeith, on a haddock line baited with 

 muscles^ and sent me by the fishermen of Newhaven, as 

 being the only fish of the kind they had ever met with. 

 From its general appearance, they at once recognised it to 

 be closely allied to the Five-bearded Rockling (il/ote//a quin- 

 quecirrata), a common species throughout the coast ; but y 

 on comparison, the differences between them were obvious, 

 and although the two fishes do disagree in some particulars^ 

 yet it is difficult to point out accurately and satisfactorily 

 to those who are not in the habit of handling them, what 

 these particulars are. Some authors, placing no depen- 

 dence, as a character, on the number of barbules on the 

 snout, and consider theFive-bearded Rockling and the Three- 

 bearded Rockling as mere varieties - 9 but this is not admit- 

 ted either by Mr Yarrell or by Mr Jenyns, who very just- 

 ly consider them as deserving of a place as distinct spe- 

 cies in their valuable works on British Ichthyology. The 

 Four-bearded Rockling, according to Linnaeus, occurs in the 



