An Account of a New Electrical Fish. In a Letter from Lieutenant William Paterson to SirJoseph Banks, Bart. P. R. S.Author(s): William PatersonSource: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 76 (1786), pp. 382-383Published by: The Royal SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/106631 .

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XIS. A Xccoan of a xzew EleHrucal -Fi/hW 18 a- J etter f ant lLieutenRat-William PaterSon tQ S;rFJ*ph ;B:allks? B4< n n-e

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Read May IX-, I7860

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\5 jHI4lLE a>t thes ifland of 3ohalnt, o-ne-- of thE 0fComors + V V inalldsffv in gmr way to t-he -:E:aR-;;hq:ds, with the g8th Regimen:t, I tnet szrith an ele&tticd fi-,-:which has-- hltherto efcaped the obl;*ervatifon of Ilatural{ts, alld I>ms 1 matly re- fipeds to:^diSr fmt jthe --eied:rica-l xS-es: alrea-d fdefcribed; whwlch induces mer to-fierld you the fol-lowingk account 0f Its

s^rlt-h a very imperfeEt fDrawillg, atld- to -beg that9 if you think lt deferves attention, you will do me-the honour of preferlting it to the Royal Society. The iiituation of a Iubaltern -- offlcers in -all army upon foreign ferviceX wlll I hopeS fufficiently apologize for my- -fe}lditzg you fo very imperfee£ a Iketch of the fi{h9 which was madein the:field, in a hot cllmates under every di>Gdvantage

The fith is feven inches long, two>:inches and a half broad7

has a long projeEting mouths alld feelns to be of the gent}s Te- trodon The back of the fiih is a dark brosvta colourX the fbelly

part of fea-green the fides yellcow7- and the fins atld tail of a fandy green. The body is interSperSed with red green, and white fpots, the white nnes particularly bright t the eyes largea, the iris red, its outer edt3;e tiloged with yellow. (See Tab. X1II)

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This content downloaded from 195.78.108.168 on Sat, 17 May 2014 19:40:34 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Lie!enant PAYER-SON'S Sccount &c 383 The if and of Johanna i3 tituated in latitude I2° r3' fouth,

The coa{} is mtholly compofed of coral rocks, which are in natly places 11ollowed by the fea. In theSe cavities I burld feveral of the eleErical filEes. The water is about 56° or 60 of Ileat of FAS}tENHEIr'S thermometer. I caught two of theen iIl a linetl bag, clof@d up at one etldX and open at the .other. 111 attelnptillg to talte otiR of tlletn--irli my handX it gave nae fo fevere aIl eleEricalx0 {hock that I was obliged to quit my lwold. I however-fecured thetn both ill the linetl b;a and carried them to the camp, which sras about two miles diflant. Upon azy arrival there, 02le of thelm was found to be dead, alzd tlle other in a very weak ftate, which nwade me GI]XiOUS tO proYeS by the evidellce of others, that it pofleed

. . .

tlle powers of eeericitgs twhile it was yet alive I had it put ito a tub of waters and defired the Surgeon o:f the regimetlt to lay hold of it berv¢ca- +hist-hands:s -upon:- doir-g whi;ch: he received an evident ele&rical Rri-e. A:ficrwards -vtthe A^djuraw<t touched it with his finger UpOtl the backf and ilt a ve ht ihock, but fu-fficielltly Ilrong Sto aCcertaili- the fia. - :

AfteriveryimpelfeA AII.aCCO-Ullt,-lX Will IlOt troubleyou witho atly: obServatiotls of my 00v1? p0ti tliis f 1lgular: ffi ; but bcgyou; will confider tlais vIlly as a direSton to others who nzay hereafter villt that- iflcltldg and-froLn their fituation alld -klmsvledge in naturalj lhiRory, may be better able to deIEribe the fi{h alad-give all accoutat of its eleArical organ&*

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I have the hollour to IveS with great eRcem, &co - W PATlERSC)Nk

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