ON THE ORKNEY ANIMAL. 427 



Urquhart ; and its accuracy is confirmed by the 

 dried specimens now before us. It represents the 

 sternum, and two parts corresponding to scapulae, 

 and those organs which are named paws # . Mr 

 Home says, that these organs resemble the pec- 

 toral fins of his squalus. But the length of the 

 pectoral fins, measuring along the upper margin, 

 is four feet ; the length of the paw cannot be de- 

 termined, as part of it is wanting ; the part that 

 remains, measures seventeen inches. 



The breadth of the fin, measuring across the ra- 

 dii, is three feet and seven inches ; while the 

 greatest breadth of the paw, in its dried state, is 

 only five inches and three quarters. 



Those parts which in form resemble the sea- 

 pulse, and exhibit articular surfaces at each ex- 

 tremity, were probably ribs. 



Mr Home concludes by observing, that u it 

 f* is of importance to science, that it should be 



ascertained, that this fish is not a new animal, 

 f* unlike any of the ordinary productions of na~ 

 " ture." Of what importance it is to science to 

 admit no new genera or species into our catalogues 

 of natural history, I cannot conceive. But it is 

 certainly of much importance to science, that the 

 naturalist should be cautious not to determine the 

 species of an animal upon vague evidence. Now 

 what evidence had Mr Home that this animal was 

 a squalus, and even to suppose that it was a squa- 

 lus maximus ? 



* Plate ix. fig, 2, a, 



