Zoology.'] 



NATURAL HISTORY OF VICTORIA. 



[Fishes. 



In size, general character, and coloring, this is closely related to 

 the English Tope, Galeus canis, in which, as in the present species, 

 I find, on comparing examples of the Australian and English fish, 

 that the two hinder gill-openings are behind the anterior margin of 

 the pectoral. The pectoral is much longer, broader, more falcate, 

 and placed farther back in the English G. canis than in the 

 Australian Tope. The 1st dorsal of the Australian fish is more 

 near to the pectoral, and the pectoral and hind lobe of the caudal 

 and the 1st dorsal are smaller, and the 2nd dorsal and anal in the 

 Australian fish are not so close to the caudal ; the caudal being 

 much larger in the English species than in its Australian represen- 

 tative. To render some of these comparative differences more 

 clear, I give the relations in a tabular form of some of the measure- 

 ments of the two species, taking the total length in each case as 

 100. The length of B was 5 feet ; it had lower and upper teeth 

 serrated. The smaller male noted below, marked C, was 4 feet 7 in. 

 9 lines long ; serratures on lower teeth. D, a female, 4 feet 5 in. 

 6 lines long : — 



Proportional Measurements of one English and three 



A. 



B. 



c. 



D. 



Australian Topes. 













English G. canis. 



Australian G. Australis. 





Young Female. 



LargeFemale. 



Small Male. 



Small 

 Female. 



Total length from tip of snout to tip of tail 



100 



100 



100 



100 



From tip of snout to anterior base of pectoral ... 



27 



22 



18 



17 



„ „ posterior base of pectoral... 



34 



26 



23 



21 



Length of pectoral ... 



19 



14 



13 



12 



Greatest width of pectoral ... 



8 



7 



7 



7 



From tip of snout to anterior base of 1st dorsal... 



35 



33 



32 



33 



„ „ hind edge of base of 1 st dorsal 



41 



42 



41 



42 



Anterior edge of 1 st dorsal ... 



12 



8 



9 



8 



Length of base of 1st dorsal ... 



9 



8 



8 



8 



From tip of snout to anterior base of rentrals ... 



54 



51 



51 



47 



„ „ base of 2nd dorsal 



62 



66 



67 



68 



„ „ base of anal 



62 



67 



71 



70 



„ „ base of lower lobe of caudal 



71 



77 



81 



83 



Length of caudal 



27 



20 



17 



17 



This is a common Dog-fish in Hobson's Bay, usually from four 

 to five feet long, of a graceful tapering form, with a long, semiellip- 

 tical snout, small fins, except the upper lobe of the caudal, which 

 is large, and with a distinct notch on its under margin. It is one of 



Dec. vii. [ 17 ] c 



