200 NOTES—ORIGINAL AND SELECTED.
Supposed Occurrence of Delphinus tursio, Fab., (the Bottle-nosed
Dolphin) off the Maplin Sands.—A somewhat mysterious animal was
announced in the London evening papers of June 19th as a "Bottle-nosed
Whale near Southend." We at once wrote to our local member, Mr. F. G.
Whittle, F.E.S., for information, but he was unable to find the fisherman
Gundy, the captor of the reputed whale, who was away in his boat. Mr.
Whittle, however, furnished us with a copy of the Southend Observer of
June 22nd, which afforded some information. The animal was captured off
the Maplin Sands, and was brought by Gundy to the beach at Shoeburyness.
The reporter writes that "after a walk of about a mile along the Southchurch
Beach we came across a canvas enclosure by the side of Mr. Grundy's boat.
Upon a board hanging outside there was an announcement to the effect that
for the sum of 2d. a whale would be seen ; and within the enclosure, with the
sand still moist from the receding tide, a large aquatic animal lay full length
in the skiff. It was dead, although it had lived for about twenty hours after
it was captured. 'This is a bottle-nosed whale from the Mediterranean,' said
Mr. Grundy, with the air of a practised showman. 'I caught the animal in
my net, and it gave us a bit of trouble ; but I managed to tow it in, and here
it is. I sunk the skiff under the whale, hoping to keep it alive when I got it
ashore, but it lashed about with any amount of fury, splashed it's blood all
over the place, and died.'
" Putting the tape over his capture, he found it measured 11ft, in length
and 5ft. 11in. round the centre of the body. Its heavy tail was in the reverse
position to that of an ordinary fish's, and would be horizontal when the
animal was in the water. It was almost black on the back, breaking into
silvery white on the stomach, and its bottle-nosed head showed the existence
of a powerful jaw and two ugly rows of sharp teeth.'' This description
applies fairly well to Delphinus tursio, which is found occasionally from the
Mediterranean to the North Sea. Dr. Laver says that it has occurred off
Essex several times within his own observation, and with the porpoise may be
considered as a regular visitor, but as the Southend specimen was not seen by
a competent naturalist we can only record the facts as we have them. Mr.
Whittle could not learn what eventually became of the animal.—Ed.
PISCES.
Conger Eel (Conger vulgaris) at Walton-on-Naze.—According to the
Essex Standard a large Conger Eel was caught off the beach at the end of the
week ending December 16th (1899) by a man named Newman, who was
employed in the new sea-wall works. The fish measured 6 feet 6 inches in
length and 23 inches in girth, and weighed 63 lbs. It was seen floundering in
shallow water and was captured with a boat-hook. It was subsequently cut
up and sold at 7d. per lb. The Conger is by no means a frequent visitor to
our shores.
CRUSTACEA.
Old Oysters attached to Crabs.—In the field for November 25th,
1899, Mr. George Hunt, Orford, Suffolk, writes :—"When fishing on Satur-
day last with a seine net in Hollesley Bay I caught a hen crab, and on its
back was a four-year-old oyster. After making inquiries of all the old
inhabitants and fishermen, I cannot find a case of the same kind occurring
before, so think it may possibly interest some of your many readers. The