minute; they are preserved in the Board-book of the Royal Society). 
I also received, a short time after, from my friend Mr. Laing, in 
consequence of a request I made for that purpose, that part of 
the skull, which contained the brain, the upper jaw having been 
separated from it, a considerable number of the vertebrae of the 
back united together by their natural attachments, a portion of 
one of the pectoral fins, with the cartilages that unite it to the 
spine, and a long and short cartilage forming the support of one 
of the gills. On comparing these different parts, with those of the 
Squalus maximus, they were found to agree, not only in their 
form, but also in their dimensions. This led to the opinion of the 
fish being a Squalus, a very different one from what was formed 
by those who saw it in the mutilated state in which it was thrown 
ashore, and who called it a sea-snake. In the different depositions , 
several parts are accurately described, such as the valvular intest- 
ine, which was taken for the stomach, and the bristles of the 
mane, which are described as ligamentous fibres, one of them is 
in my possession, and is of the same kind with the fibres forming 
the margin of the fins of the squalus maximus. The drawing that 
was made from memory, and which I have annexed, will enable 
me in a few words to point out how much, in some things, those 
who saw the fish adhered to truth, and in others allowed their 
imagination to supply deficiencies, for one of them declared, with 
confidence, that the drawing was so exact a representation of what 
he had seen, “that he fancied he saw the beast lying before him, 
at a distance on the beach.” 
“The drawing is correct in the representation of the head, and 
anterior part of the fish, from which the skin, the upper and 
lower jaw, the gills, and gullet, had been separated by putrifica- 
tion; and when we consider that the liver and the other viscera 
were all destroyed, except the valvular intestine, which was taken 
away by the observers, the size of the body that remained would 
be nearly in proportion with the drawing. The legs are tolerably 
exact representations of the holders in the male Squalus maximus, 
described in a former part of this paper, and therefore are not 
imaginary, only that four have been added which did not exist. 
This is satisfactorily determined by the pectoral fin, which is 
preserved , having no resemblance to them. The mane, they said, ~ 
was composed of ligamentous fibres, one of which was sent to 
London; this corresponds, in its appearance, with the fibres that 
form the termination of the fins and tail of the Squalus maximus, 
70 WOULD-BE SEA-SERPENTS. 
