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OCCUBIIENCE OF PAGELLUS ACARNE AT WHITBY^ 



THOMAS STEPHENSON and FRANCIS DAY, C.I.E., F.L.S., &c., 

 Whitby. Cheltenham. 



[Mr. Stephenson writes :] 



I have great pleasure in communicating the capture off Whitby 

 of a specimen of the Axillary Bream {Page litis acarne), the fact being 

 the more interesting as I cannot find any recorded instance of the 

 capture of this fish on the Yorkshire coast, and therefore conclude 

 that this is another addition to our fauna. 



On the 23rd of January last, this Bream was taken off Whitby 

 in the trawl-net of the steam-trawler ' Challenger,' and given to 

 Mr. J. H. Wilson, who, after preserving it, kindly gave it to me to 

 be placed in the Whitby Museum. Not having seen the fish in the 

 flesh, and the colours of this preserved specimen having somewhat 

 faded, I had (though certain it was of the family Sparidce) some 

 doubt as to its identification. I therefore, at your suggestion, sent 

 it to Dr. Day for determination ; he returned it saying that it was 

 Pagellus acarne (Cuv.). This specimen, which was of a fine silvery 

 colour, measures in length from the nose to the extreme point of the 

 caudal fin lof in., in girth 8| in., has fourteen spinal rays in the 

 dorsal fin, one at the anterior portion of each ventral fin, and two at 

 the anterior portion of the anal fin, has no dark spot at the origin of 

 the lateral line like P. centrodonius (several fine specimens of which 

 have been landed here lately), and much smaller scales. 



[Dr. Day writes as follows : — ] 



The stuffed specimen of Pagellus acarfie sent to me from Whitby 

 was about ii| inches in length, and in fair condition. This species 

 was first recognised by Rondeletius, and although Risso in his 

 * Ichthyology of Nice,' 1810, re-named it Sparus berda, he subse- 

 quently, in his work, ' Histoire Naturelle de I'Europe Meridionale,' 

 1826, reverted to Rondeletius's synonymy, and called it Pag?'us 

 acarne. Cuvier and Valenciennes drew attention to its teething, etc., 

 and removed it to its present genus, from which period it has been 

 known as Pagellus acarne. Present in the Mediterranean, and so far 

 south in the North Atlantic Ocean as the Canary Isles, it has been 

 observed to visit the south coast of Great Britain ; and one from 

 Leach's collection is still in the British Museum. It was obtained 

 from Headstow, in Cornwall, and was the example from which 

 Dr. Giinther first recognised the species as British. This species was 

 not known as British to Couch or Yarrell, and though probably an 

 occasional visitor, must still be considered as rare. This is the first 



example recorded from so far north. ^ _ Naturalist, 



2 NOV 1SBI 



