5. FISHES. 



By G. A. BOULENGER, F.R.S. 



Geneeal Sketch. 



Prior to 1858, when Dr. Giinther commenced the classification 

 of the Fishes in the British Museum, the arrangement of this 

 collection had not received much attention, a large proportion of 

 the specimens being unnamed. The principal accessions received 

 at various times and incorporated in the Museum Collection had 

 in many cases been named by the previous owners, or had 

 formed the basis of special reports, e.g., Mr. John Reeve's 

 collection of Chinese Fishes, General Hardwicke's Indian Fishes, 

 Dr. ParnelPs collection from Scottish Rivers, Dr. Gronow's 

 collection, Mr. Yarrell's British Fishes, and the collections 

 made during the voyages of the Erebus and Terror, Herald, 

 Sulphur, Samarang, Battlesnahe, etc. Dr. J. E. Gray had 

 worked at certain groups, and in 1851 published a " List of 

 the Fishes belonging to the order Chondropterygii," and Dr. 

 J. J. Kaup, of Darmstadt, had been engaged to work out the 

 Eels and Lophobranchii, and in 1856 produced a " Catalogue 

 of Apodal Fish" and a "Catalogue of Lophobranchiate Fish." 

 Dr. Giinther's rearrangement of the collection proceeded con- 

 currently with the publication of his classical catalogue. The 

 first three volumes, dealing with the Acanthopterygii, were 

 published in 1859, 1860 and 1861 respectively. Vol. IV., 

 containing the Pharyngognathi and Anacanthini, was completed 

 in 1862. The next three volumes, dealing with the Physostomi, 

 appeared in 1864, 1866 and 1868 respectively, and the eighth 

 and last volume, in which the Eels, Lophobranchii, Plectognathi, 

 Dipnoi, Ganoidei, Chondropterygii, Cyclostomata and Leptocanlii 

 were included, was published in 1870. Since that time the 

 assistants working at the collection (Messrs. O'Shaughnessy, 

 Boulenger, and Regan) have been mainly occupied in naming 

 and incorporating accessions, but in 1895 the first volume of 

 a second edition of the Catalogue, written by Mr. Boulenger, 

 and dealing with the Centrarchidrc, Percidae, and part of the 

 Serranidse, made its appearance, the Fishes dealt with having 

 been rearranged in their cases, and the preparation of a second 

 volume is now in progress. 



