10 ON THE GENUS TETRAGONUKUS OF RISSO, 



Cuvier and Valenciennes (Hist. Nat. xi. p. 172, pi. 318) how- 

 ever, writing nine years subsequently, restore it to its place 

 among the Mugilidce, and give a fully detailed description, 

 accompanied by a somewhat moderate figure. 



In the Proceedings of the Zoological Society for 1839, p. 79, 

 we next find the Rev. R. T. Lowe dissenting from this opinion, 

 for, having obtained a Madeiran example in a fresh state, he 

 comes to the conclusion, after a most exhaustive examination, 

 that the genus was more closely allied to Thyrsites — at that time 

 l)laced among the Scombritke, but more recently along with 

 certain allied forms constituted by Dr. Giinther as a distinct 

 family, the Trichiuridce — than to the Muffilidce, and he therefore 

 places it among the Trichiuroid Scombridce. Lowe also, for 

 several reasons which he sets forth in detail, considered himself 

 justified in separating his oceanic fi.sh from the better knoAvn 

 Mediterranean Tetragonurus cuvieri, and he accordingly called it 

 T. atlanticus, by which name he subsequently figured it in his 

 Fishes of Madeira, p. 129, f. 19. 



With neither of these opinions of Lowe does Dr. Giinther (Cat. 

 Fish, iii., p. 408) agree, for, in the first place, he considers that 

 T. atlanticus has not been proved to be specifically separable from 

 T. cuvieri ; and, in the second place, he establishes a distinct 

 group of the AtherinidfK under the name of Tetragonurina for 

 the sole I'eception of this genus, thus more or less endorsing the 

 opinions of the eai-lier writers in regard to its relationship with 

 the Grey Mullets, and in fact almost exactly replacing it in the 

 position assigned to it by Risso in his later work. 



Dr. Giinther further remarks that " it will always be valuable, 

 in so scarce a fish, to note peculiarities of the single individuals 

 which are preserved in our collections." Acting on this sugges- 

 tion we therefore, on the Hon. William Macleay Avith great 

 liberality presenting his type specimen to the Australian Museum, 

 applied to Prof. Giglioli, of Florence, for an example of the 

 Mediterranean form, which with his usual prompitude he for- 

 warded, and we received safely during last September. 



