THE EUROPEAN SEAS. 



191 



certain data with reference to the Atlantic portion 

 of the Lusitanian province ; as, however, we possess 

 the list of oar own British fishes on one side, and 

 that of the Atlantic islands on the other, forming 

 the northern and southern limits of that province, 

 the special relations of the fishes of the Medi- 

 terranean can be easily determined. 



If we take our British fishes at 270 species, we 

 shall find that no less than 150, or upwards of 

 thirty-seven per cent., are also Mediterranean ones. 

 It must not, however, be supposed that the species 

 common to that sea and ours are uniformly dis- 

 tributed ; there is within our area a very distinct 

 limitation of forms both northern and southern, 

 and even eastern and western ; so that the com- 

 parison with the Mediterranean will be close or 

 otherwise, according as we include or exclude our 

 southern and western fishes. If we take the Cornish 

 fishes by themselves, as they may be collected 

 during the summer season from out of the Mount's 

 Bay fishing-boats, the Mediterranean aspect of the 

 assemblage will be very striking ; excluding the 

 north Celtic forms — such as occur but rarely, if 

 ever, on our south-western shores — the agreement 

 would amount to nearly one-half. 



Our imperfect acquaintance with the ichthyology 

 of a large portion of the Lusitanian province has 

 already been noticed (p. 118), so that it was found 

 necessary to travel as far as the extreme southern 

 limits of the province for any list of well-deter- 



