Fishes. 1911 



The Sea Serpent. — Having seen much notice taken in the ' Zoologist ' of the ques- 

 tion of the great sea serpent, allow me to suhjoin an extract from the log-book of a 

 very near relative, dated August 1st, 1786, on hoard the ship ' General Coole,' in lat. 

 42° 44' N. and long. 23° 10' W. " A very large snake passed the ship ; it appeared 

 to he about 16 or 18 feet in length, and 3 or 4 feet in circumference, the back of a 

 light ash colour, and the belly thereof yellow." According to the log the ship was 

 becalmed at the time. You may rely on the correctness of this, and any one desirous 

 of satisfying himself may see the original log. — S. H. Saxhy ; Bonchurch, Isle of 

 Wight, September 8, 1847. 



Nest of the Shanny attended by a Stickleback. — "In the month of May, 1845, I 

 obtained a nest formed of seaweeds, and in all respects like those which have already 

 been described ; and when it was discovered hanging from the rock, two individuals 

 of the fifteen-spin ed stickleback were in close attendance on it. As, on examination, 

 some of the ova were seen to be springing into life, much attention was paid in watch- 

 ing their development, which was gradual, and occupied several days, proceeding as 

 if the ova in different portions of the mass had been deposited at small intervals of 

 time. As the young moved about the vessel with much activity, they coveted the 

 shelter of some floating weed ; but descended eagerly to assail and tear such of their 

 brethren as died and fell to the bottom. Being from the first impressed with the con- 

 viction that they were the young of the fifteen-spined stickleback, I was much sur- 

 prised to notice the great difference of their shape from that of their supposed parent, 

 more especially in the parts before the eyes, which, instead of being elongated and 

 slender, were short and round. In consequence of this they were closely examined 

 with glasses, and drawn with the aid of a microscope of low power ; and though I 

 failed to detect satisfactorily the ventral fins of that fish (chiefly perhaps from their 

 slender form and transparency), yet, from the declivity of the head, protuberance of the 

 belly, the pectoral fin, and the length of the dorsal and anal fins, which in some spe- 

 cimens were continuous with the caudal, and in others separated by a slight notch, I 

 had no hesitation in referring them to the common shanny (Blennius pholis)y — 

 Couch's ' Illustrations of Instinct? p. 257. 



Occurrence of the Sword-fish at Boston. — A specimen of the sword-fish (Xiphias 

 Gladius) was taken last month in the deeps off Boston, Lincolnshire. The sword 

 measured 2 feet 8 inches, and its total length was 8 feet 6 inches ; it weighed 8 stones 

 7 rbs. I have not been able to obtain the particulars of its capture, but it was bought 

 by the present owner for 8s. He has had it stuffed, and expects to obtain a good 

 price for it. I believe it is a very rare visitant upon these coasts. Yarrell says that 

 it was once taken in the Severn, where a man bathing was struck by it, and received 

 his death-wound. A dead one was found off the coast of Essex in 1834. One was 

 exhibited at Brighton in 1796, and another taken in Bridgewater river in 1834. I 

 believe it has never been taken off the coast of Norfolk. — E. E.Montford; East 

 Winch, near Lynn, Norfolk, September 13, 1847. 



