HABITS OF WOLF-FISHES. 1>4!) 



sea, to which resemblance they doubtless owe their common name, bestowed upon them by the 

 parly English settlers. They are also called in this country "Wolf-fish," this being the common 

 book-name. In the, Orkneys the name is "Swine-fish," professedly on account of a peculiar 

 movement of the snout which has been observed; while in Scandinavia the name "Stone-biter" is 

 also common. Another species, which may be called the Spotted Cat-fish, or the Wolf-fish, is 

 occasionally obtained by oar cod-fishermen on the off-shore banks, and has been taken near the 

 shore in the Bay of Fundy. In form and general appearance it is similar to the species just 

 described, but instead of transverse bauds of brown or black it is marked with numerous circular 

 spots and blotches; sometimes several of these are confluent, forming a large, irregular blotch. 

 This species, Anarrhicas minor, Olafsen, has been observed on the coast of Norway throughout 

 nearly ifs whole extent, north of latitude 58; it occurs in Iceland, whence were received the first 

 specimens, and on our own coast, has been seen in the Bay of Fundy and on several of the banks 

 north of Georges. 



Besides these two, there is the " Blue Oat-fish ", A. latifrons, which is much smaller, rarely exceed - 

 ing three feet in length, with a very soft and flabby body, and of a uniform blue-slate or mouse 

 color. This is a resident of the deep waters, in two to four hundred fathoms, on the outer edge of 

 the off-shore banks, and has also been observed in the northern parts of Europe. Dr. Bean has 

 recently described a species from Alaska somewhat resembling Anarrhicas lupus, but without the 

 cross bands; the color of the alcoholic specimens is dark brown without bauds or spots, and with 

 belly of light brown or gray clouded with very dark brown. To this he has given the name 

 Anarrhicas lepturust. The types were obtained at Saint Michaels. 



The Wolf- or Cat-fishes are, emphatically, lovers of cold water, their range corresponding 

 closely to that of the halibut, though perhaps not extending quite so far southward. They arc 

 almost invariably found upon the same feeding-grounds, where the Cat-fish devour the heavy- 

 shelled crustaceans and mollusks which are too strongly protected to be eaten by other fishes. 

 According to Fabricius it migrates from the coast to the deep sea in the autumn and returns again 

 in the spring, being associated in these movements with the common lump-fish. 



It is impossible to imagine a more voracious-looking animal than the Sea Cat fish, with its 

 massive head and long, sinuous, muscular body, its strongly rayed fins and its vise-like jaws, 

 armed with great pavements of teeth, those in front long, strong, pointed like those of a tiger, 

 closely studded, re-enforced in the rear by others rounded and molar-like, adapted for crushing the 

 objects which have been seized by the curved teeth in the front of the jaw. The character of 

 their food has already been mentioned. Professor Verrill found in the stomach of one of these 

 fishes over a quart of spiny sea-urchins, and it is believed that upon these and upon hermit-crabs 

 they depend very largely for food. They are pugnacious in the extreme, and have been known to 

 attack furiously persons wading at low tide among the rock-pools of Eastport, Maine. When OIK- 

 IS lifted into a fishing-boat, which is a not .unfrequent occurrence, it is necessary to kill it at once 

 to prevent it from injuring the fishermen, by biting or stabbing them with its sharp spines. They 

 are quickly killed by blows upon the head. 



The only record of the spawning time of the Anarrhicas lupus in Europe, which I can at 

 present find, is in Schlegel's "Fishes of the Netherlands," where it is stated that it occurs in May 

 and June. It is probable that on our own coast the period is approximately the same, since young 

 fish of one and two inches in length have been several times taken by the fishermen in August 

 and September. DeKay states that they spawn in May. According to Fabricius, it spawns on 

 the Greenland coast in May among the largest seaweeds, a short way from the shore. The largest 

 individuals of this species are six or seven feet in length, and would probably weigh forty pounds. 

 The specimen mentioned by Richardson, three feet long, weighed twenty pounds. 



