ON ANARRHICHAS MINOR, OLAFSEN 27 



In the year 1875 Professor Steenstrup, who has made the 

 genus Anarrhichas a special study, contributed 1 an important 

 and, it may be added, much-needed paper on the subject, in 

 which he recognises three species as inhabiting the Atlantic 

 Ocean, namely : 



A. lupus, L. (- A. strigosits, Gm., and A. vomerinus, Agass.) 

 Thus diagnosed : dusky or ashy, with from nine to twelve 

 darker transverse bars, and small spots irregularly dispersed ; 

 teeth very strong, the vomerine series being much longer than 

 the palatine series; fin rays D. 75, A. 45. Range- Shores 

 of the Atlantic Ocean, and Arctic Europe and Greenland. 



A. minor, Olafs. ( = A. panthcrina, Zouiew ; A. maculatus, Bloch ; 

 A. eggerti, Stp. ; American variety of A. lupus, Giinther, " Cat. 

 Fishes," iii. p. 209). Dark ashy; the whole body,^ especially 

 the back, covered with large round dark spots ; transverse bars 

 are wanting ; teeth not so strong as in A. lupus, the palatine 

 series and the vomerine series about the same length ; fin rays 

 D. 77, A. 45. Range Shores of Iceland, Western Green- 

 land, Finmark, North Russia. 2 



A. latifrons, Steenstrup. Not a well-known fish. Colours probably 

 uniform, and perhaps marked with ill-defined spots ; teeth, 

 less strong and much smaller and more attenuated than in 

 either of the former species, the palatine series of teeth 

 narrower posteriorly and much longer than the vomerine ; fin 

 rays D. 79, A. 45. Range Shores of Iceland and Western 

 Greenland. 



In addition to the characters alluded to in the above 

 diagnoses, Professor Steeustrup bases his conclusions relating 

 to these species upon important cranial peculiarities 

 which he describes and figures. 



It is not quite clear in what light Professor Steenstrup 

 regards A. denticulatus, Kroyer, from Western Greenland ; 

 of which there is a specimen in the British Museum 

 ("Brit. Mus. Cat. Fishes," iii. p. 211). Dr. Giinther, in his 

 useful "Study of Fishes" (1880), unfortunately does not 



1 NOGET on SL^GTEN S;Z!ULV (Anarrhichas) OG DENS NORDISKE ARTER 

 AF, Professor Japetus Steenstrup. (Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra den natur- 

 historiske Forening i Kjohenhavn, 1876, pp. 159-202, Tab. iii.) 



1 Prof. Steenstrup (" Vid. Medd." 1878, pp. 109-113) identifies A. leopardus, 

 Agass. ("Spix. Pise. Bras.," p. 92, 1829), with A. minor, which implies an ex- 

 tension of the range of this species as far south as Brazil. 



