Page:VCH Cornwall 1.djvu/357

 FISHES 1 66. Xope. Galeus vulgaris, Flem. Not uncommon. 167. Hammerhead. 'Lygesna malleus, Risso. A specimen is recorded as taken at New- lyn in 1834. 1 68. Rough Hound or Small-spotted Dog- fish. Scyllium canicu/a, Linn. Very common. 169. Nurse Hound or Large-spotted Dog- fish. Scyllium catu/us, Cuv. Common, but not so abundant as the pre- ceding. The eggs of this species are found attached to stems of Laminaria at low tide at St. Just in Falmouth Harbour. 170. Black-mouthed Dog-fish. Pristiurus melanostomus, Bonap. One specimen 25! inches long was taken at Polperro in 1834. 171. Smooth Hound. Mustelus vulgaris, Mailer & Henle. Common. 172. Porbeagle. Lamna cornubica, Gmel. Has been frequently taken. Dunn re- corded a pair taken at Mevagissey in 1881, the male 9^ feet long, the female 8 feet. 173. Thrasher. Alopias vulpes, Gmel. Not uncommon. Is frequently captured by the mackerel or pilchard nets. A specimen was landed at Cadgwith about the year 1900, and the writer has seen it leap clear above the surface of the sea off Falmouth. Mr. Gatcombe records one 5 ft. 6 in. long taken at Mevagissey on a common whiting hook. In 1878, according to Mr. Dunn, the crew of a trawler reported that they saw a thrasher and a sword fish attacking a rorqual in Meva- gissey Bay. 1 74. Basking Shark. Selache maxima, Gunn. A specimen brought ashore in Cornwall and described in J. Couch's British Fishes measured 31 ft. 8 in. in length. A specimen landed in St. Austell Bay near Menabilly, the seat of the Rashleighs, was 29 ft. 4 in. long, had a mouth 2| feet wide and weighed 4 tons. The peculiarities of the head of this specimen as shown in a drawing given to Couch led him to describe it as a distinct species under the name Polyprosopus rashleigh- anus,.but later authorities consider it to have been Selache maxima. A specimen 9 feet long was taken in Mount's Bay in 1870 (Cocks, Corn, Polyt. Sac. 1870). 175. Six-gilled Shark. Notidanus griseus, Gmel. In May 1873 one i feet long was taken by baited hook three miles offshore at Meva- gissey. In 1846 one 26 ft. 5 in. long was captured at Polperro, and another 6 feet long taken at the same place is in the British Museum. 176. Picked Dogfish or Spur Dog. Acan- thias vulgaris, Risso. Abundant ; sometimes swarms in such numbers as seriously to interfere with the pil- chard and mackerel fishing. At Mevagissey a year or two ago I saw a large number being cleaned and prepared to be sent to market for eating. It is viviparous. 177. Centrina salviani, Risso. A specimen was obtained by Mr. Cornish in 1877 which had been trawled near the Wolf Rock. 178. Spinous Shark. Echinorhinus spinosus, Gmel. A large number of captures of this species in Cornwall have been put on record : one 8 feet long in 1849 by Cocks at Falmouth ; a female 7^ feet long on a line at Polperro in 1867 ; in 1 88 1 one 6 feet long was caught sixteen miles off the Deadman. Mr. Cornish recorded five taken in Mount's Bay between 1865 and 1881. 179. Angel-fish or Monk-fish. Rhinasquatina^ Linn. Common. Taken sometimes in trammels and cut up as bait for crab-pots, also trawled and caught on long lines. It is often 5 or 6 feet long, and is said to reach even 8 feet. 1 80. Torpedo. Torpedo nobiliana, Bonap. Has frequently been captured. Couch alludes to five taken in one year in Mount's Bay, and two or three which came under Cocks' observation at Falmouth. T. Cornish records one trawled in 1873 between the Lizard and Land's End, and a second near Penzance. In 1881 specimens were taken at Pen/ance, St. Ives, Falmouth, Polperro and Mevagissey. In the Report of the Penzance Nat. Hist. Sac. 18834 two are recorded as captured in a ground seine at Porthleven. 181. Common Skate. Raia batis, Linn. Common. 182. Flapper Skate. Raia macrorhynchus, Raf. Occurs. 305 39