Illustrations from “A History of the Fishes of Massachusetts”

Between 1853 and 1867 the Academy published Member and naturalist David Humphreys Storer’s “A History of the Fishes of Massachusetts” in Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Later published in a book of the same title in 1867, it was called by Academy Member and entomologist Samuel H. Scudder a “land-mark in the ichthyological literature of the country.” Storer’s descriptions included in total 39 plates of figures prepared for engraving, drawn by various draughtsmen including Antoine Sonrel, A.C. Warren, and William Henry Tappan. In pencil and ink, handwritten notes include captions for the images and instructions, such as: “To the engraver – It will be necessary to stipple this fish as it is covered with fine, sharp scales too small to be outlined.”

The taxonomy, or identification and subsequent name of the fish by Genus and Species, used in labeling the illustrations at the time have been commonly superseded. The taxonomy was often disputed by prior claims of discovery or by more accepted categorization and identification of the fish themselves.

View the full Finding Aid for this collection here, featuring links to scanned images of the individual illustrations.

1 of 5

American Shad

Alosa sapidissima. Wilson, 1811

In his remarks of this fish in Memoirs, Storer addresses the debated taxonomy of the American Shad, explaining that he went with James Ellsworth Dekay's over the earlier identification and later-accepted name by Alexander Wilson as he believed the honor of naming should go to the person who identified it first as a new species, as Dekay did.

Paying particular attention to the run of this fish, Storer notes they go up-river throughout May, but are most plentiful "when the apple-trees are full in blossom." He further noted that previously, they had run a full month earlier in the Concord River earlier than in the Merrimack, but that due to damming, shad could no longer be found in the Concord River.

See the description, published in Memoirs, vol. 6 no. 2 here.

Illustration for Plate 26.2 – Alosa praestabilis. Dekay, 1859
Artist: William Henry Tappan
Date: ca. 1859

2 of 5

Atlantic Torpedo

Tetronarce nobiliana. Bonaparte, 1835

Referred to by Storer in Memoirs as the Cramp-fish. Though previously identified by Charles Lucien Bonaparte, when Storer compared his illustration drawn from life or soon after death to one of a dried nobiliana, he found enough differences to believe it a different fish altogether. That other description and illustration came from Yarrell's British Isles, and after correspondence with William Yarrell about the differences between the two, both concluded Storer's must be a different species.

See the description, published in Memoirs, vol. 9, no. 1 here.

Illustration for Plate 39.5 – Torpedo occidentalis. Storer, 1867
Artist: A.C. Warren
Date: ca. 1867

3 of 5

Sea Lamprey

Petromyzon marinus. Linnaeus, 1758

Referred to by Storer in Memoirs as the Great Lamprey. Elisha Bartlett wrote to Storer and provided him with what he knew of the lamprey's spawning: "They are often seen in the Summer in pairs at work together, constructing a little mound of stones. They build this about three feet in diameter at the base, and about two feet high, of stones from the size of an ounce bullet to that of the fish. They often aid each other in carrying the same stone. This is pretty evidently a labor of love as they copulate once in five minutes, or so, during the whole time. The young go down the river when the water begins to freeze. They are from six to eight inches long."

See the description, published in Memoirs, vol. 9, no. 1 here.

Illustration for Plate 38.4, a, b – Petromyzon americanus. Lesueur, 1867
Artist: A.C. Warren
Date: ca. 1867

4 of 5

Lumpfish

Cyclopterus lumpus. Linnaeus, 1758

In his remarks on the Lump-fish in Memoirs, Storer writes, "The whole appearance of this fish is very forbidding, being in young specimens a soft, gelatinous, tremulous mass; in older specimens it is of a much firmer consistence; but in both it is covered entirely with firm, horny spines." He cites other biologists who note its use as food by people in Greenland and Edinburgh, but concludes, "With us, however, it is not used as an article of food."

See the description, published in Memoirs, vol. 8, no. 2 here.

Illustration for Plate 32.2 – Lumpus anglorum. Will, 1863
Artist: William Henry Tappan (1821-1907)
Date: ca. 1863

5 of 5

American Angler

Lophius americanus. Valenciennes, 1837

Storer notes in Memoirs that while this fish is not often seen or caught in the waters of Massachusetts Bay, you are more likely to find it in the months of September, October, and November. This lead to the fisherman's saying about the American Angler, which they called the Goose-fish: "When you take a goose-fish, look out for an easterly storm." Storer describes the fish as a "voracious eater" and recorded an anecdote that Captain Atwood of Provincetown (Likely Nathaniel Ellis Atwood) shared with him of seeing the fish heading to shore with a fish of the same species and size in its mouth.

See the description, published in Memoirs, vol. 5 no. 2 here.

Illustration for Plate 18.2 – Lophius americanus. Cuvier, 1855
Artist: Unknown
Date: ca. 1855

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