149 



CIIELONIAD^E. TURTLES. 



CORIACEOUS TURTLE. Testudo coriacea. Turton's 

 Lin., vol. 1. Coriudo cor. Fleming's Brit. An., p. 149. 

 Sphargis cor. Jenyns' Man., p. 290. Bell's Br. Reptiles, 

 p. 11. 



The occurrence of any of the Turtles in the British seas 

 is so rare, that it seems proper to note every instance 

 of it ; even where as in the instance presently to be given, 

 an opportunity has not been afforded of examining the 

 specimen. The following paragraph is extracted from 

 the Falmouth Packet Newspaper, of the dale of August 

 10, 1839. "Penzance. On Saturday last at about 7 

 o'clock in the evening, as the Trinity buoy yacht was 

 coming into the bay from - the Wolf Rock, something 

 was observed about two miles from Penberth cove floating 

 on the water, which appeared to be a boat, bottom up. 

 They bore away towards it, and discovered it to be an 

 immense Turtle. They manned their boat and pursued it 

 more than an hour, during which it dived and rose to the 

 surface several times. They were within a boat's length of 

 it twice, but it eluded all their attempts to take it. They 

 report it as the largest they ever saw." The species of 

 Turtle to which I have referred this announcement, was 

 long since recorded by Borlase as taken in Cornwall ; who 

 mentions of one of near eight hundred weight. But there 

 is a description of another species, — Chelonia caretta, — in 

 the 4th vol. N. S., of Loudon's Magazine of Natural History, 

 p. 130, that was caught in January, 1840, at the mouth of 

 the river Tor in Devonshire, and which weighed about 

 two hundred pounds. 



SPARID^. SEA BREAMS. 



ORPN, COUCH'S SEA BREAM. Orpkus Rondeletii. 



Pagelhis Rondeletii, C. Zoologist, vol. 1, p. 81. 



The Sparoid fishes are found to bear so considerable a 

 resemblance to each other in form and colour, and until 

 very recent times, have been so inadequately represented in 

 figures, most of which have been taken from dried skins 

 or prepared Specimens, in which all the distinguishing marks 

 ot life, and separation from one another have been lost — that 

 we need not wonder if we occasionally lind the synonyms 

 misapplied, the references to ancient authors misplaced, 

 and certain species rediscovered, that have a better title to 

 a designation than others which for a time have been per- 

 mitted to bear it. Another fertile source of error arises 



T 



