160 ACANTHOPTERYGII. 



that Ichthyologist had been obtained by the National Museum. At Edinburgh, 

 however, I was informed this was an error, and Dr. Traquair, f.e.s., showed 

 me some of Parnell's types. In the Wernerian Memoirs, Vol. vii, 1838, p. 498, is 

 the following resolution : " That the honorary premium of ten sovereigns or a 

 piece of plate of that value, should be awarded to Dr. Richard Parnell, upon a 

 selection from the dried specimens submitted to the Society on 30th April last, 

 and containing such species as are mentioned by the author as new to the 

 district, or which may be considered in any way doubtful, being presented to the 

 Museum of the Society." 



In the proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh i, 1844-1850, p. 164, a 

 list of seventy-eight species received from Dr. Parnell is enumerated, among these 

 were the following gobies in spirit. Gohius niger, Tarrell : G. minutus, Tarrell : 

 G. unipunctahis, Parnell : G. bipunctatus, Tarrell and G. albus, Parnell. Con- 

 sequently all Parnell's types were not in the collection obtained for London. 



Synopsis of British Species of Gobius.* 



A. First dorsal fin with seven spines. 



1. Gobius Ruthensparri, D. 7/-^, A. to-tt, L. 1. 35-40, f L. tr. 11. Dorsal 

 fins rather wide asunder. One black spot in the pectoral region, a second at 

 the base of the tail fin. 



B. First dorsal fin with six spines. 



2. Gobius paganellus, D. Q/xr-TWi -A- t^-t* ^. 1- 56-58, L. tr. 15-16. Dorsal 

 fins close together, the first being rather low. Nearly black, fins mostly with 

 light edges. 



3. Gobius niger, D. 6 | t "s-tt? -^- io-Ta> L. 1. 39-41, L. tr. 12-13. Dorsal fins 

 close together. Light brown, variously marked with darker. 



4. Gobius minutus, D. 6 | to-tt> &■• To-r2> ^ J - !■ 60-70, L. tr. 12-14. Dorsal fins 

 rather wide asunder. Sandy coloured, with darker markings and spots. 



5. Gobius Parnelli, D. 6 | -p-Vo", -^- "9-Vo> -"J* ^ r - 40, L. tr. 11. Dorsal fins close 

 together. Slate coloured, with dark vertical bands : fins black, with white 

 horizontal lines. A black spot at end of first dorsal, another at base of caudal fin. 



6. Gobius pictus, D. 6/10, A. 9, L. 1. 35-40, L. tr. 10-11. Dorsal fins close 

 together. Light, with darker irregular bands : dorsal fins with three or more rows 

 of large round spots. 



7. Gobius quadrimaculatus, D. 6/^q, A. -g--Vo> ^ 1- 37-40, L. tr. 7-8. Dorsal 

 fins close together : second spine of first dorsal frequently elongated. 



A. First dorsal fin with seven spines. 



1. Gobius Ruthensparri, Plate LII, fig. 1. 



Gobius ruthensparri, Euphr. Nya Handl. Stockh. 1786, p. 64, t. iii, f. 1 ; Retz. 

 Faun. Suec. p. 326; Thompson, Nat. Hist. Ireland, iv, p. 115; Pries, Wiegm. 

 Arch. 1840, p. 237 ; Cuv. and Val. xii, p. 48 ; Yarrell, Brit. Fishes (Ed. 2) i, 

 p. 285 (Ed. 3) ii, p. 322 ; Kroyer, Dan. Fis. i, p. 399, c. fig. ; Nilss. Skand. Faun. 

 iv, p. 226 ; White, Catal. Brit. Fish, p. 52 ; Gunther, Catal. iii, p. 76 ; Mcintosh, 

 Fish, St. Andrews, p. 174; Collett, Norges Fis. p. 58; Heinke, Arch. Nat. 1880, 

 p. 310 ; Moreau, Poissons France, ii, p. 232 ; Giglioli, Pesci Italiani, p. 29. 



Gobius fiavescens, Fabr. Reise n. Norw. p. 322. 



Gobius minutus, Nilss. Prod. p. 94. 



* Dr. Gunther, Intr. Study of Fish, p. 486, includes Gohius auratus among the British 

 forms. In the Catal. Fish. Brit. Mus. iii, p. 11, he gives as the habitat of this fish, "coast of 

 Nice." A variety of G. niger he observes is " perhaps identical with G. auratus, Risso." Couch's 

 fish I believe to be one of our common species. Thus unable to ascertain why G. auratus, unless 

 as a variety of G. niger, has been considered British, I have omitted it. 



f By Lateral-line is meant the number of rows of scales between the head and the base of the 

 caudal fin. 



