NOTES— FISHES AND PALAEONTOLOGY. 



NOTES— FISHES. 



Snake Pipe Fish on the Lincolnshire Coast.— I have had brought 

 to me a fine specimen of Nerophis ophidion, picked up dead on the sands at Skeg- 

 ness in the present month (September). — Wm. Eagle Clarke, Leeds, September 

 18th, 1886. 



Pishes Observed near Goole. — I reported last year the capture of the 

 Angler Fish {Lop kins piscatorius) near Goole. I have again to state that some 

 have been taken in the salmon nets. In August a Weever ( Trachinns viperd) was 

 picked up on a sand-bank three miles below Goole ; and this morning (7th 

 September) a Pipe Fish {Syngnathits sp. ?), 16 inches long, was brought me 

 from Howden Dyke, three and a half miles above Goole, and more than fifty from 

 Spurn. The largest Salmon {Sal/no salar) caught here weighed 35 lbs. Some 

 Sturgeon {Acipenser stitrio) were caught, but no Porpoises or Bottle-noses, 

 though many were seen. — Thomas Bunker, Goole, 7th September, 1886. 



Grey Mullet near Scarborough.— On the 30th August a single 

 specimen of a 'Grey Mullet' {Mugil sp. ?) was caught off the East Coast, 

 not far from the beach at Hayburn Wyke, equi-distant from Scarborough and 

 Whitby. It was taken in a drift-net by Mr. Patrick, whilst fishing for Salmon. 

 It was a very fine one, and the weight 4 lbs. 



Mullet, as a rule, swim along in shallow water, among weeds where small 

 crustaceans abound, and the moment a boat approaches dart off with a heavy 

 splash. The conformation of the mouth is very remarkable, besides the peculiarity 

 of the lips. There is a ridge or an elevated rib in the lower jaw which fits into a 

 groove in the upper part of the palate, which enables it to seize its prey in muddy 

 sea-bottoms, and to reject the silt and sand. 



I need hardly say that the Grey Mullet is an epicure's dish, and is rarely to be 

 met with on the Yorkshire coast. Its habitat is on the shores of the Bristol 

 Channel, and Caermarthen Bay and the county of Sussex. — John H. Phillips, 

 Yorkshire Fishery District, Scarborough, 17th September, 1886. 



[It would be of the greatest interest to ascertain the precise species to which 

 this interesting note refers, inasmuch as Mugil chelo Cuv. { — M. septentrionalis 

 Giinth), the Lesser Grey Mullet, which occurs regularly in summer within the 

 mouth of the Humber estuary, is the only species whose occurrence off the 

 Yorkshire coast rests upon indisputable authority (that of Dr. Giinther). The 

 claim of M. capito rests upon the statement of Meynell (1844) that 'both species 

 of Grey Mullet ' occur. — Eds.] 



NO TE — PA LsE ONTOL O G Y. 



Discovery of Carboniferous Vegetation at Bradford.— York- 

 shire is becoming noted for discoveries of fine examples of Carboniferous vegetation, 

 for, following closely upon the case of the now celebrated tree at Clayton, I have 

 had reported to me, also in the Lower Coal Measures, a group of fossil roots at 

 Bradford. These were come across by workmen in excavating for the erection of 

 some new offices in Darley Street, and, as in the former case, great care has been 

 exercised in their baring. My friend, Mr. J. H. Monckman, D.Sc, furnishes the 

 following particulars : — There are seven distinct stumps in position, within a dis- 

 tance of 12 yards, varying in size from I ft. 6 in. to 2 ft. 6 in. in diameter. The 

 roots are in loose sandy shale, the stumps in ragstone, in which ripple-marked and 

 worm-tracked stones are found. The largest stump has a diameter of 2 ft. 6 in. 

 longest axis, and 2 ft. diameter at right angles to longest axis. It has been partly 

 bared only, showing some stigmarian roots. The larger roots and the stump are 

 covered with carbonaceous matter. The second stump is smaller ; height of stump, 

 1 ft. 8 in.; longest diameter, 17 in.; at right angles to this, 16 in. There are four 

 chief roots at right angles to each other, stretching roughly S.E., S.W., N.W., 

 and N.E. From the stump to the bifurcation of the roots is, approximately in each 

 case, 2 ft. ; diameters of roots near the stump vary from 8 in. to 9 in. ; length of 

 root exposed, 5 ft. 6 in. The remaining stumps are not yet bared ; they will not 

 be cleared for a little while. Messrs. A. & G. Taylor, Bradford, have photo- 

 graphed the second stump just referred to. — S. A. Adamson, Leeds, September 

 22nd, 1886. 



Oct. t886. 



