NOTES ON HEMIBRANCHIATE AND LOPHOBRANCHIATE FISHES. 



By Henry W. Fowler. 



The fishes belonging to the above-named groups contained in 

 the collection of the Academy are listed in this paper. Besides 

 notes on variation, interesting records are given for some species 

 for the first time, and two species are described as new. 



GASTEROSTEIDAE. 

 Spinachia spinachia (Linne) 



British Isles and Sweden. 



Pungitius pungitius (Linne) 



Europe, Sweden, Rostock in Germany, Magdalen Islands, 

 Massachusetts, Salem, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, 

 My largest examples show: Head 3f to 4; depth 5f to 6; D. 

 IX, often X, rarely xi, 9 or 10; A. i, 9, often 10; length 62 to 70 mm. 

 In the entire series the dorsal shows mostly x, often ix, seldom or 

 rarely viii or xi. In view of the great variation of these spines, 

 even as low as ii have been given by some authors, it is not pos- 

 sible to use them as distinctive characters. The Japanese Pygo- 

 steus steindachneri Jordan and Snyder and P. undecimalis Jordan 

 and Starks are nominal forms supposed to be distinguished chiefly 

 according to their dorsal spines, and may therefore be merged 

 in the synonymy. Gasterosteus pungitius brachypoda Bean has 

 been placed as the Greenland representative, on the alleged char- 

 acter of its short ventral spine, which is a little less than half of 

 the head. None of my examples shows the ventral spine more than 

 half of the head, and most of them much less. In the young or 

 small examples, these spines are quite short or small. It is there- 

 fore quite likely Pungitius pungitius is entirely circumpolar. 



Gasterosteus aculeatus Linne. 



Prince Edward Island, Magdalen Islands, Halifax, in Nova Scotia, 

 Maine, Long Island, New Jersey, Virginia. Many from the Medi- 

 terranean, Lago Nemi and Italy as var. hrachycentrus. This large 

 series of all ages shows great variation, individual as well as geo- 

 graphical. It is impossible to clearly define the latter. All the 



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