of the Fishery Board for Scotland, 



227 



The dog-fishes being of little or no use as food, seldom reach our 

 markets ; and as Dr Day has suggested to me, it is probable that a closer 

 ^ search may prove this species not to be so rare around our shores as 

 has hitherto been supposed. 



At Tarbert (Loch Fyne), during the winter fishing, the dog-fishes are 

 thrown into the harbour when the boats come in, and large numbers are 

 often left on the beach as the tide goes down. These are nearly all the 

 picked dog-fish (Acanthias vulgaris). In March last I met with two speci- 

 mens of Pristiurus amongst them, but the season being nearly over, I had 

 missed the opportunity of ascertaining the comparative frequency of this 

 form. Large numbers of Acanthias were brought in by the herring boats 

 in the summer and autumn, which I frequently examined, but never found 

 a specimen of Pristiurus amongst them. In the spring a specimen was 

 captured in Rothesay Bay, and kept alive for some time in the Rothesay 

 Aquarium. 



12. Lcemargus microcephalus (Bl.), Greenland Shark. — A specimen of 

 this shark was obtained by the Granton Steam Trawling Company, in the 

 Firth of Forth, 8 miles S.E. of the Island of May, on 20th January 1886. 

 The specimen was a female, and measured 1 1 feet in length. This species 

 is evidently fairly common in our seas. The special interest attaching to 

 the capture of this specimen is that it was taken in a beam trawl. When 

 brought to the surface 3 cod-fish hooks with snoods attached escaped from 

 its mouth, and another was found attached at the back of its throat. In 

 the same haul there were 4 herring (nearly ripe) and a specimen of the 

 sea bream {Pagellus centrodontus). 



Another specimen, a young female, measuring 5 feet in length, was 

 obtained in the Firth of Forth on 2nd February. Both specimens were 

 dissected by Mr Calderwood, who contributes a paper on the subject to 

 the present report. 



13. Rhina squatina (L.), Monkfish, or Angel Shark. — This fish is 

 usually considered rare on the East Coast of Scotland, though it has been 

 recorded from several localities. According to Day, it is common in the 

 North Sea and British Channel. A specimen was sent to us by the 

 Fishery officer at Aberdeen, which measured 42 inches in length. It was 

 captured by the trawl on 6th August 1885. Mr Sim recorded this species 

 from the same locality in January 1883. 



