246 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



eggs in December 1893, at Strudshavn, from a fish caught in 

 only 30 fathoms ; and he also records a ripe egg laid by a 

 Chimaera after its capture by line in the Herlofjord, in 200 to 

 300 fathoms, in August 1897. Thus, as Grieg says, spawning 

 is seen to continue for many months : and in some cases, at 

 least, it takes place in quite shallow water. At times the 

 fish go far up the Norwegian fjords, and Grieg tells of the 

 capture of a young one at Odda, in February 1896. 



In general, as regards the habits of Chimaera off the 

 Norwegian coast, Grieg came to the conclusion: (1) that it 

 moves from deep to shallow water towards the close of the 

 year, being found in shallow waters of 40 fathoms, or even 20 

 fathoms in winter, and migrating slowly into deep water, of 

 100 to 200 fathoms, in spring and summer; and (2) that 

 spawning takes place in winter and spring, at least it com- 

 mences then but may continue longer. The fact that 

 Chimaera resorts to the Norwegian coastal waters in winter 

 is, so far, in complete harmony with our Aberdeen observa- 

 tions ; for we have seen that it is towards the Norwegian 

 side that we find the fish about December or January, after 

 which months they seem to wander westward and ocean- 

 wards. But the whole history of the fish, so far as we can 

 decipher it, seems to be a complicated one, and not to be 

 summed up in a word. 



In the case of some fishes, such as the Hake, we have so 

 definite a migration, along so extended a route, that we find 

 the fish on some one area in abundance at one season (and 

 that a comparatively short one); and then, when the shoals 

 have passed on, we have them again in some other adjacent 

 or connected area. To some extent we seem to see the same 

 thing in Chimaera, in its route (in spring and summer) west- 

 wards along the northern border of the North Sea ; though 

 even here we are in all probability dealing with but a fringe 

 of the migrating shoals, the bulk of the fish being outside the 

 100-fathom line, and beyond our reach. But all the while, 

 Chimaera is present in the Atlantic waters, and we cannot 

 suppose, therefore, that we are dealing with one general 

 migration of the entire stock. Moreover, while the Nor- 

 wegian Chimaerae are found to breed in shallow water, we 



