210 



Appendices to Fourth Anniml Report 



Common Trout. — A number of yearling brook-trout were placed in the 

 Kinness Burn in spring, the fatty fin in many having first been removed, 

 in order to distinguish them. In June a specimen was obtained in the 

 harbour amongst the Fuci. It had probably migrated to the tidal region 

 to feed on the small crustaceans so abundant there. 



Herring. — The young herrings mentioned in last report as having been 

 acclimatised to live in fresh water, still survive, though they have grown 

 very little. Several were lost by leaping out of the vessel and falling 

 into a sea-water tank. Immersion in the salt water was speedily fatal. 

 These captive specimens fed only on earth worms. There is thus a basis fur 

 experimenting on a larger scale in regard to the maintenance of these 

 fishes in lakes, as well as their conveyance to distant regions. 



Sprat. — Many sprats are caught in the harbour. The great waste of this 

 species which annually takes place in the Forth, Tay, and other rivers, is 

 one of the clamant points in modern fishery legislation. 



Conger. — The rarity of the capture of this fish in the neighbourhood 

 during the year is noteworthy. In former days the long line fishermen 

 considered it unsaleable. Accordingly when it reached the gunwale, the 

 head was cut off by a cleaver for the extraction of the hook, and the body 

 allowed to sink. 



Ballan Wrasse. — A fine example, 19 inches in length, was captured 

 off Barbet Ness, about five miles from St Andrews, and, as usual, off a 

 rocky shore. The reproductive apparatus (male) seemed to be in an 

 atrophied condition, forming hard fusiform processes, 3| to 4 inches 

 long. The comparatively small stomach contained chitons, hermit-crabs, 

 fragments of a small sea-urchin, and sea acorns. 



Shagreen Ray. — A remarkable monstrosity of this species was procured 

 for the museum from Scarborough fishmarket. At first sight the animal 

 appeared to have two snouts, a second long conical process jutting out on 

 the right, and bearing the great lateral prickles of the region. 



Piked Dog-fish. — A large example or two were caught by the liners, and 

 a young specimen lived in the tanks for some time. It is upwards of a 

 year since a large number were captured, viz., in July 1884, when two 

 line boats brought about 100 each from the ground off St Abb's Head. 



Porbeagle Shark. — This species is occasionally secured in the salmon- 

 nets. On the 7th of October a male, 7 feet in length, and which had 

 been actively engaged off the mouth of the Forth abstracting the hooked 

 fishes from the lines, entangled itself in the latter, and was captured. In 

 its stomach were four whitings and a haddock partially digested, and t^pro 

 of the former still had hooks in their mouths^ — a few inches of the ' string ' 

 hanging outwards. A few loose hooks also occurred in the stomach. 

 The total length of the digestive canal in a specimen of this size is less 

 than 4 feet, of which the large intestine occupies 16 inches. The two 

 lamellif orm lobes of the liver weighed 1 1 pounds 3 ounces. It is interest- 

 ing that a former example of the same length was also caught in October, 

 ■•J iXLsjivjj la jdOuj. a-ia ,iwu».ja ilcai/jf.-a iuMid, jUJi ti Jjyjjui^ «*}■// iiiij<sioi> 

 e-temioy^'bn^Tff.j ,e eobfgotf iionrpJaoo iotjtkI 3rfi lo iloBmoda odT 

 utinnooo 1 Recent Additions to the British Fisheis: ,dfib Jguoi-gnor 



In the Second Annual Report of the Board a note and figure of a new 

 British fish {Lumpenus) was given. A single small example has since 

 been procured by Mr G. Sim of Aberdeen from a local trawler. It is 

 c worthy of note also that another rare form, viz., Gadiculns argentms^ was 

 .procured by Mr Sim. The latter species was first dredged in the 

 t Porcupine off the cost of Ireland. ^ ■ ^-a 'ji'^* 



The following structural note is by Professor Cleland :-^1io biidi & ha& 



