482 DEEP-SEA FISHES OF THE ATLANTIC BASIN. 



ther (Challenger Report, xxn, 73-70) has in the most painstaking manner brought together 

 a list of the specimens taken in the North Atlantic, as far as they are known to science. 

 He mentions 14 known upon the .Scandinavian coasts from 1740 to 1852; 19 on the British 

 coasts from 1759 to 1884; 1 iu the Mediterranean (he states, however, that about half a 

 dozen specimens have been observed in the Mediterranean); 1 in the Bermudas; 3 at the 

 Cape of Good Hope; 1 in the Indian Ocean, and 5 off the coast of New Zealand. 



He calls attention to the fact that of those observed on the. British and Scandinavian 

 coasts 4 were observed in the month of January, 5 in February, 8 in March, 2 in April, 1 

 iu May, 1 in June, 1 in July, 2 in August, 1 in September, and 1 in October. lie also calls 

 attention to the fact that by far the greater proportion of their capture, in the Northern 

 Hemisphere, at least, is in the stormy season. 



This agrees with what we know of the capture of Trachypterus, which likewise seems 

 to be brought to the surface only by .meat commotions of the ocean. 



The popular name of Regalecus is "oar-fish," in allusion to the blade like expansion of 

 the extremities of the two ventral tins. Regalecus is also called in the books the ''king of 

 the herrings." Strangely enough, no representative of this genns has been found along the 

 coast of North America, except once at the Bermudas. 



Gunther is of the opinion that the distribution of this fish in the depths of the sea is 

 the same as that of Trachypterus. The similarity in their geographical distribution is quite 

 remarkable. 



Family STYLOPHORID^E. 

 ' Ordinal relations doubtful.) 



HtylephoritUr, Swainsiix, Nat. Hist. Fishes, 1839, n. 17. 



STYLEPHORUS, Shaw. 

 Stylephorus, Shaw, Trans. I. inn. Soc. London, i, 1791,90, plate. 



Ribband-shaped fish, having the body elongate, and compressed; the dorsals extending 

 from the head nearly to the end of the tail; the tail terminating in an exceedingly long, 

 cord-like appendage, about twice as Ion- as the head. Anal absent. Ventrals absent. 

 Caudal erected upwards, having its rays connected by a rather firm membrane. Snout 

 produced; mouth small, toothless; maxillary boms small, short, hidden behind intermax 

 diaries. Mandible long, extending far behind the eye. Eyes large, turned forward; 

 suborbital very large, coveting nearly the whole, of the cheek and extending backward 

 behind the eye. Opercles small, (till openings wide; gills 4. Vent premedian. Bran- 

 chiostegals 4. 



STYLEPHORUS CHORDATUS, Shaw. (Figures 393,394.) 



Stylephorus chordatux, Shaw, he. oil.; Zoologist, iv, S7; Naturalists' Miscellany, vm, pi. cci.xxiv. — P.lain- 

 viLLE, Journ. 1'hvs., i.xxxvn, 60 pi. i, fig. 1. — Cuvier and Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., x, 381. — 

 GCnthek, Cat. Fish. lint. Sins., m, 306. 



Height of body one-fifth of total length (without caudal); length of head one-sixth 

 Eyes large, close together. Pectorals pointed, erected upwards, about half as loug as 

 head. Dorsal extending nearly to the end of the tail. 



Radial formula: D. 110; 6. 6; P. 13. 



This remarkable form is known from only a single specimen, 11 inches long, with the 

 caudal appendage 22 inches in length, which was taken in the Atlantic, between Cuba 

 and Martinique, about the year 1790, and is now in the British Museum. It is undoubtedly 

 an inhabitant of great depths. 



