8138 



Fishes, fyc. 



The Tench found in the Moray Firth. — A beautiful specimen of the tench {Tinea 

 vulgaris) was taken in the Moray Firih, near Banff, about the middle of last month 

 (June). From whence it came, or how it had fared, is of course a mystery. The 

 stomach was empty. The specimen is now deposited in the Banff Museum. — Thomas 

 Edward; Banff, July 9, 1862. 



Eurydice pulchra at Banff. — Van Bunerdun's new species of land-louse, which he 

 calls Slabberina agata, but which, unfortunately for our continental friend, Dr. Leach 

 found and described many years ago, under the name of Eurydice pulchra, is quite 

 common here. Should any one be passing this way, and wish to see this little Crus- 

 tacean in its native pool, I can assure him a treat, if the day be quiet and sunny and 

 the tide out. — Thomas Edward ; Banff, July 9, 1862. 



Is Succinea Pfeifferi a Species? — Dr. Gray in p. 180 of ' Turton's British Shells' 

 (1840), when speaking of Succinea Pfeifferi says, "It is very doubtful if this is more 

 than a variety of that variable species " (S. putris). I have no means of knowing 

 whether this question has been since settled or not, and for the sake of eliciting infor- 

 mation I have put down my own observations on the subject, which all lead me to 

 believe they are distinct. Between the North and South Camps, Aldershott, runs the 

 Basingstoke Canal, along the sides of which, both up and down as far as I have been, 

 the Succinea abounds ; and they are all alike, small, narrow, very oblique, and, while 

 the animal is in the shell, the colour is bluish black. About a mile from Ash the 

 Canal is raised on an embankment nearly thirty feet above the level of the surrounding 

 country, and the land at the foot of the bank is used as an osiery, where among the 

 willows, &c, the yellow Iris grows luxuriantly. Last month (May) nearly every leaf 

 in this spot had a Succinea on it, some of the largest I have ever met with, and 

 about four times the size of their neighbours ou the canal. The colour of the animal 

 was invariably a dull white, or white with a shade of yellow. The shell mnch larger, 

 the whorls more convex, the suture not so oblique, and the mouth broader in proportion ; 

 it has also a varnished appearance which is wanting in the smaller kind. I kept many 

 of both kinds alive for a considerable time, and watched their habits. Several paired 

 in captivity and deposited eggs, but though kept together they never united, except 

 with their own sort. The large kind I observed rather to avoid the water, whereas 

 the small often took to it of their own accord, and remained in for a length of time, 

 particularly at night. 1 shall be plad to know what conclusion has been arrived at by 

 any of the correspondents of the ' Zoologist ' who may have given attention to the sub- 

 ject. I have this year lost dozens of the smaller Succinea through the ravages of a 

 small worm, probably a Cochleoctonus. More than once while looking at my captive 

 I have noticed an individual become restless and begin to throw its head from side to 

 side. Shortly after a worm has made its appearance, usually by eating its way through 

 the right side of the neck of the Succinea just above and behind the genital orifice. 

 The poor victim seldom lived more than an hour or two after the exodus, and seemed 

 to die in great pain, as the genital organs and " poche buccale " often protruded as if 

 they had been squeezed out by strong convulsions. — Bruce Hutton; Aldershott. 



