4100 Fishes. 



I consider my experiments on the tubercles quite conclusive as to 

 the identity of Dr. Fleming's supposed two species, Raniceps trifurca- 

 tus and R. Jago. 



The Blue-striped Wrasse, {Labrus variegatus). Three specimens 

 of this beautiful fish have been brought me ; they are in the vivarium 

 of the Zoological Society. 



The Red Wrasse, (Labrus carneus). A specimen was brought me 

 alive on the 10th of October, and will be forwarded to the Zoological 

 Society, where it may be seen. As this fish differs from the descrip- 

 tions by authors, I will send my own description for the next month's 

 * Zoologist.' 



William Thompson. 



Weymouth, October 12, 1853. 



Further Note on Tench and Pike. — In the September number (Zool. 4020) I gave 

 an account of a pike attacking a tench, an occurrence which is considered very unu- 

 sual, from the disinclination which all other fish are said to have to destroy the tench, the 

 presumed healing qualities of which are supposed by many persons to be the cause of 

 this immunity. Since my former communication I have had additional evidence of 

 the fallacy of this prevalent opinion ; for in the pit alluded to, a few days after the oc- 

 currence of the event previously described, I saw another tench undergoing exactly 

 the same process, being carried about in the jaws of a pike, and too large for the lat- 

 ter to swallow : and I afterwards found a dead tench floating on the water, which had 

 evidently been killed by the bite of a pike. I have since had the pit dragged, and 

 out of ten or twelve brace of rather small tench, of the size an 8-lfo or 10-fb pike could 

 swallow, I was only able to catch three or four, all the rest having apparently been de- 

 stroyed by the pike, of which I took out several, some of them weighing 8 and 10 lbs. 

 each. I therefore feel quite satisfied that any supposed immunity from the attacks of 

 other fishes with which the tench may be favoured on account of its medicinal quali- 

 ties, is totally unfounded, as well as that, for any other reason, it is neglected by the 

 pike when in pursuit of food. — W. H. Slaney ; Hatton Hall, October 6, 1853. 



Note on a Variety of the Plaice (Platessa vulgaris). — A piebald variety of this fish 

 was lately caught at Lossiemouth, in the Moray Firth, and sent to me as something 

 worthy of notice. There was nothing peculiar about it either as to its size or shape, 

 the length being 18 inches and the breadth 11 : the upper or eye side also had the 

 usual tints of the species. All that was remarkable about the fish lay in the colour of 

 the under side, more than one half of it being of the same olivaceous brown as the up- 

 per side, and with the same proportion of orange spots, placed chiefly opposite those 

 on the upper or eye side. The under lateral line was white throughout its whole 

 length. The anterior or head end of the under side was of the usual white colour, but 

 had on it three orange spots encircled by olivaceous brown, similar to the colour of the 

 upper side. The brown colour extended farther upon the abdominal part of the under 



