244 
PLECTOGNATHI. 
Dr. Ball informed me of an Orth. Mola being taken at the end of June, 
1839, off Arklow, County of Wicklow. It measured 4 feet in length and 
weighed If cwt. 
This fish was very fully described in an excellent communication made 
to the 4th vol. of Charlesworth’s Mag. Nat. Hist. p. 235, by Dr. Belling- 
ham of Dublin, to which the reader is referred. Four species of Entozoa 
found in it are also particularly noticed. I learned from Captain Walker, 
in 1846, that large specimens of the short sun-fish have occurred on the 
Wexford coast. 
Between the years 1818 and 1825 Dr. Ball saw off the coast at Youghal 
five of these fishes, three of which he preserved. When on a visit to him 
in July, 1834, we saw for some time at a little distance the D. fin of a fish 
above the surface of the water, which there could not be a doubt was 
O. Mola. 
Two of the specimens which Dr. Ball had procured attracted attention 
by the fin being thus seen above the surface, and were captured with a 
gaff. 
Dr. Harvey tells us that he believes a specimen occurred in Cork Har- 
bour in 1837 (Cork Fauna). 
Mr. J. D. Humphrey mentions that three were taken in September, 
1846, two off Cork Harbour and one off Youghal : in one of the former 
several Tritoma coccineum were found. 
An example taken in Connemara, and weighing 6 cwt. 42 lbs., is de- 
scribed by Captain Bedford, R. N. See Illustrated London Reading 
Book, p. 170, published at office Illust. Lond. News, 1850. 
The immense specimen in British Museum is noticed in Zool. Proc., 
1849, p. 6. 
The Oblong Sun-fish, Orthagoriscus oblongus, Schn., 
Has been once at least obtained on the coast. 
A specimen of this fish was, at the end of September, 1845, found by a 
peasant among a mass of sea-weed on the coast near Tramore, County of 
Waterford, and being seen by Mr. Trevor E. James, a gentleman con- 
nected with the Geological Survey of Ireland, was fortunately secured by 
him. It was given by that gentleman to Dr. Farran, by whom it was 
presented to the Nat. Hist. Soc. of Dublin, and who kindly wrote me of 
its occurrence at the time. Mr. Andrews, the secretary of the society just 
named, drew up a minute description of the specimen, which was read to 
the society and published in Saunders’ News Letter of Nov. 17th, 1845. 
Dr. Harvey favoured me with the following note, in 1847 : — 
“ Orthagoriscus oblongus , Mr. Samuel Wright states that he took at 
Youghal in 1837. Its weight was about 112 lbs. He says it exactly cor- 
responded with the Oblong Sun-Jish of Shaw’s Zoology, vol. v. part i. 
pi. 176.” _ 
There is a specimen of the oblong sun-fish in the Dublin University 
Museum, supposed to be a native one, taken at Wexford, as indicated by 
an old list of donations. 
ORDER V.— SCLERODERMI. 
The File-fish ( Batistes capriscus, Gmel.) has been obtained at Galway by 
Professor Melville, about two years ago. — JR. Ball, 1855. 
