46 



MR. G. SIM ON THE OCCrRRENCE ETC. OF 



from the stomach of the "Witch-Sole ; it is not, so far as I am 

 aware, described in any British work, and it therefore remains 

 unnamed. 



In Sessile-eyed Crustacea of the orders Amphipoda andlsopoda 

 the ground is very rich. As to the identity of Anonyx denti- 

 culata, Sypera galha, and Arcturus longicornis there is no 

 doubt ; but many others are in my possession which are not 

 yet identified. Pycnogonum littorale is abundant. 



Turning to Molluscan life, the list is a fairly large one. Eirst 

 of all, on account of its numbers, delicate structure, and fine sculp- 

 turing, comes that lovely little form FMline scabra^ followed by 

 Nucula nitida, Solen pellucidus, Tellina fahula, Scrohicularia 

 'prismatica, Fsammohia Ferroensis, Donax anatinus, Mactra stul- 

 torum and 31. solida, Pleurotoiiia turricula, Tornatella fasciaia^ 

 Dentalium entale, Venuslincta, and Apo^^rhais pes-pelicani ; while 

 Pliolas crispata finds a congenial home in the easily perforated peat. 

 Many other shells have been seen, but not living ; so that in 

 all likelihood they have been merely washed by the waves to 

 the "Witch Ground" after the death of their occu]3ants. 



Tood-fishes other than the Witch-Sole are scarce and of bad 

 quality along this ground ; and, according to the trawl-fishers, 

 many of the Cod and Haddock caught there have some w^ound 

 upon them, or are otherwise lean and out of condition. Tor this 

 reason some of the fishermen give this hollow the name of the " Tish 

 Hospital," because they think the sickly fish have come in so 

 that they might heal their sores and recruit their strength. 



Such, then, is an outline, necessarily very imperfect, of the 

 living organisms which frequent the ground which Lumpenus 

 haunts and in which it burrows. Tor the latter statement 

 there is perhaps no absolute proof ; but that it is fossorial 

 lam strongly inclined to think, from the fact of its always being 

 caught by the trawl ground-rope. In the narrow openings 

 between the outer coils of this rope it is generally firmly jammed, 

 invariably accompanied by masses of sand, mud, and peat, of 

 ■which, as already stated, the bottom is composed. 



It would seem that the ground-rope, in cutting through the 

 uneven sur face, comes upon Lumpenus in its retreat, and fixes the 

 creature in its folds before there is any chance of escape. "Were 

 the fish a free-swimmer only, the chances are very slight for such 

 a slender form to be caught at all. 



