To Frederick McCoy   28 January 1863

Phillip Island 28/1/63

Dear Prof. MacCoy.

Whilst staying here in company of Dr Black & Mr Griffith1 a fisherman caught a large fish, which no one here seems to have seen before & which was purchased by Mr M'Haffie. Thinking that it may be a novelty to the ichthyology of Victoria, I skinned the animal, the meat being served for the table by Mrs M'Haffie & proved of most excellent taste & flavor.

For preserving the skin we used a solution of Bichlorid of Mercury and Salt. Mr Griffith made a sketch of the fish, which is herewith transmitted.2 Dr Black thinks it is identical with the New Zealand Groaper

A small other fish caught simultaneously is like wise transmitted, as it seems to be rare. Should either of these be worthless for your museum, I would be very glad to send them to Prof. Dumeril, who is anxious to add to the Australian collection of fishes in the Museum d'histoire naturelle of Paris

Very regardfully yours

Ferd. Mueller3

1
Thomas Black and C. J. Griffith.
2
Sketch not found.
3
See also F. McCoy to M, 20 February 1863 in which McCoy identifies the fish as the 'not very uncommon' Sciaena aquila. See also M to E. Henderson, 1 March 1863 in which M relates McCoy's identification, adding that the fish is 'occasionally seen'.

Please cite as “FVM-63-01-28,” in Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, edited by R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora†, J.H. Voigt† and Monika Wells accessed on 18 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/63-01-28