NOTES ON SOME FISH AND CRUSTACEA RECENTLY
OBTAINED IN CORNWALL.
By Thomas Cornish.
The following notes were made during a visit to Prussia Cove Marazion, east of Cuddan Point, Cornwall, where I spent the month of August last.
On the 24th of that month, by the kindness of Mr. Hamilton James, of Truro, I received a very excellent sketch of a dolphin, Delphis delphinus, the original of which had been shot with a rifle- bullet in the estuary of Truro River a few days before. The animal was eleven feet long, and of a girth of five feet six inches.
Of the common fish, we took Whiting-pollack (M. pollachius), Scad, Bream, Black Bream, Basse, Blind (M. lusca), Power-cod, Ballan-wrasse (male and female), Blue-striped Wrasse, Rock Gur- nard (Streaked Gurnard, French Gurnard or Parson, Mullus imberbis), never taken on a hook), Red Mullet (M. surmuletus), Homelyn-ray, Burton Skate, Common Cod, Dory, Grey Gurnard, Smooth Hound (Ray-mouthed Dog), Turbot, Allice-shad, Blue Shark, Rock-cook, Grey Mullet, Conger, Ling, Whistler (Three- bearded Rockling), Atherine, Small-eyed Ray (R. microcellata, Bordered Ray, Painted Ray), Sole, Variegated Sole, Müller's Top- knot, Angel-fish (Monk), Rough Dab, Plaice, Sand-eel, Gattorugine, Smooth Shanny, the Great Pipe-fish, and (in a pool having no communication whatever with fresh water) a Fresh-water Eel.
Of the rarer fish, I have taken the Boar-fish, and have had brought to me the Sword-fish, of which I have written to you (p. 351); and the occurrence in the bay of another uncaptured Sword-fish — said to be of larger size than the one taken — has been reported to me.
In addition to these, I have had two fish of extreme rarity, both captured in Mount's Bay. The first is the Derbio, sent to me on August 20th by Mr. Mitchell, of the Western Hotel, Penzance. It was accompanied by the smallest mackarel I have ever seen. The dimensions of the Derbio were — Over all seven inches and six- eighths; eye to fork, six inches ; depth, two inches and two-eighths; length of head, an inch and five-eighths; lateral line curved high over the pectorals, then descending rapidly and running straight to the tail, strongly carinated as it approached the tail, and apparently, but not really, cross-braced and serrated. This specimen, though smaller than that described by Couch, agrees with his description
