THE TORPEDO. 
257 
visit) , that one or two of these fish are occasionally taken there in the course of 
a year. But in regard to species, the author in this communication describes a 
torpedo received from Brixham, which is certainly the same as the specimen 
under consideration. He observes, ‘ the back of it was of a dark ash-colour, 
with somewhat of a purple cast, but not at all mottled,* like those of the Atlantic 
coast of France, nor regularly marked with eyes, as they have been called, like 
some found in the Mediterranean. Its under part was white, skirted, however, 
with the same ash-colour, which towards its tail becomes almost universal. The 
side-fins being a little contracted and curled up, prevented the precise measure- 
ment of its breadth, but it appeared to hold the general proportion observed in 
those of La Rochelle ; that is, the breadth was two-thirds of its length,’ p. 465. 
Bloch’s figure represents a different fish from the present one. Pennant copies 
Walsh’s plate illustrative of the French specimens.fi Donovan (vol. iii. pi. 53) 
does not inform us whence his figure was taken, but that it was not drawn from 
a recent individual may be inferred from the only original information he gives 
of the torpedo as a British species, being — ‘ we can further say, upon the best 
authority, that this species has been more than once taken upon the sandy coasts 
near Tenby, in Pembrokeshire, South Wales.’ His figure exhibits five spots, 
the spiracles notched, and the tail somewhat longer than that of the specimen 
before me. Risso’s Torp. unimaculata and T. marmorata, fig. 8 and 9, tom. iii. 
ed. 1826, appear very different from my fish — the former displays spiracles with 
an even or circular margin ; the latter has them notched. Blainville (Faune 
Franqaise, p. 45) considers the Torp . narke, T. unimaculata , and T. marmorata , 
described as distinct species by Risso, to be only varieties of one. Blainville 
figures the three ; the two last are longer-tailed than mine. T. marmorata ap- 
proaches it more nearly in form, but is less clumsy : the spiracles are in all three 
represented as notched. Fleming (Brit. Anim.), not having seen specimens, de- 
scribes from other authors. In the Phil. Trans, for 1834 (p. 542), Dr. Davy 
states that the Torp. marmorata , Risso, and T. Galvani, Risso, are identical — - 
in this memoir two Mediterranean species are described, of which this one only 
approaches the specimen before me. Jenyns (p. 509) considers the British 
species of torpedo to belundetermined, as likewise does Yarrell, whose figure 
(vol. ii. p. 410) we may therefore presume has not been made from a native 
specimen. 
“ Of Dr. Jacob’s torpedo, which is a female, the entire length is 34, the greatest 
breadth 23 inches ; breadth across the ventrals 9f inches. The body is rounder 
and forms a greater portion of the whole than in Yarrell’s figure (and still more 
so than in Willughby’s, which the author just mentioned considers the same as 
his) ; it is 19f inches long from the anterior extremity to the part of the body 
which is on a line with the extremity of the pectorals, and 14f inches thence to 
the end of the caudal fin. The first dorsal fin, which is 3 inches in height, ex- 
tends for 2 inches along the trunk of the tail, and terminates nearly on the same 
plane with the ventrals ; the second dorsal fin originates about 1 \ inch behind 
the first ; it is 2f inches in height, occupies If inch of the tail, and extends 
within If inch of the origin of the caudal fin — it thus nearly occupies the portion 
between the ventral and caudal fins : C. fin 5 inches in length, upper lobe the 
larger. Eyes minute, f inch long and about the same broad, 2 inches 10 lines 
from the anterior edge of the body, 2 inches 4 lines apart ; spiracle opening, cir- 
cular or without tooth-like processes ; a fimbriated process about an inch within 
the margin ; several rows of small sharp teeth ; vent about the middle of body 
within the ventral fins. Colour of the entire upper surface uniform reddish-grey, 
with obscure and small markings of a darker shade ; a single dark spot f inch 
in diameter on the body a little to the left of the middle of the body ; under side 
rich chalk -w'hite, prettily bordered with reddish-grey, which colour forms a band 
* Small dark markings appear scattered over both upper and under side in 
Mr. Walsh’s figures. 
f Pennant describes the spiracles of a torpedo which came under his observa- 
tion, as having “ six small cutaneous rays on their inner circumference.” 
s 
