BOARFISH. 
143 
by a trawler of Plymouth; and a single individual was brought 
to me in January, 1852, by a boy who found it entangled in 
ore-weed in the harbour of Polperro. I possess a recoid of 
eight examples obtained at Falmouth in the space of three 
years; but the whole of these instances signify little in com- 
parison with the numbers which have been since taken in the 
west of Cornwall, on the first adventure of a trawl-vessel from 
Penzance, which was in July, 1844. The place where these 
examples were found was close to the Runnel Stone, near the 
Land’s End, and on the first day sixty were brought to land, 
while several others had been thrown overboard as worthless. 
Within a few days after this two others were caught, and in 
the course of a single week afterwards, a hundred more were 
captured; the numbers finally taken and subjected to examina- 
tion exceeding two hundred. Further observation has shewn 
that these fishes may always be found within half a mile of 
this well-known rock, where they are probably induced to 
assemble by congenial food; but they are scarce, or not to be 
found beyond that distance. Small crustaceans were the only 
food found in any of these specimens. 
The numerous examples of these fishes varied in length from 
five to seven inches, which therefore may be regarded as the 
usual dimensions of the species. The depth of one that 
measured seven inches, in front of the first dorsal was three 
inches, and the girth seven inches. The snout is lengthened, 
and is capable of being protruded beyond its ordinary length, 
to the extent of seven eighths of an inch. Above the eye the 
head is narrow, and the outline is then aiched concavely upward 
and backward in a waved form to the origin of the first dorsal, 
which is the highest elevation, from whence it slopes backward 
to the stalk of the tail. The eye is large, round, five eighths 
of an inch in diameter, and the same measure from the snout 
when the mouth is closed. W^hen extended the snout is 
membranous, and surrounded anteriorly with a rim of bone, 
forming the jaws, on the upper part of which is a long stout 
bone, which passes into a conspicuous socket between the eyes; 
and anteriorly it expands on each side like two wings which 
terminate in two horns. From the orifice of the socket pos- 
teriorly a small slight bone passes obliq^uely downward and 
forward to meet another from the rim of the mouth, thus 
