THE DISCOBOLI. 59 



and twisted, as in L, Montagui, and without apparent segmentation. Evi- 

 dently these rays are affected by a nuptial growth, which is not so patent 

 above the skin, on the ends of rays, as in other species. In the anal the 

 first ray is about opposite the seventh or eighth ray of the dorsal ; the fin 

 extends farther back than the latter, reaching under nearly one third of the 

 caudal. Caudal slightly rounded posteriorly ; the longest rays are one half 

 to two thirds of the length of the head. Disk subcircular, half as long as the 

 head, equal the distance from the chin, less than the distance to the anal. 

 Vent nearly half-way from disk to first anal ray, which latter is half-way 

 between the snout and the base of the caudal. The position varies in the 

 sexes. The body cavity is longer in the females, and the vent is farther 

 back ; this applies to all the species. 



Pectorals broad, deejjly notched below the middle of the hind border; 

 rays of the lower portion extending beyond the membrane, a couple of the 

 longer sometimes reaching almost as far back as to the vent. A slight fold 

 of the skin unites the fins in front of the disk. 



Olive to brown, light to dark, punticulate and clouded, blotched, banded, 

 vermiculate, or longitudinally striped with darker and with lighter. In life 

 the tints vary from lilac to reddish or yellowish, with spaces on certain indi- 

 viduals often nearly white, and every variety of coloration may be taken in 

 a single locality. This being the case, it is thought best to treat the striping, 

 freckling, banding etc., merely as marks of individual variation, and not as 

 characters indicating established varieties. On the striped specimens the 

 number of lines varies greatly, of the spotted ones no two are alike, and the 

 same is true of every other pattern. Most often there are blotches on the pos- 

 terior portions of the anal and the dorsal ; frequently they take on the appear- 

 ance of transverse bands, as is still more often the case on the caudal. 



The specimens in the Museum were secured from the Cheshire coast and 

 other points in Great Britain, from Ostend, and from various localities off 

 the coast of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Maine. A small specimen, with 

 the locality '' Off Block Island, from a pecten," that may not be positively 

 identified, bears peculiar markings : from the tip of the snout a white line 

 passes above each eye to meet its fellow of the opposite side at the begin- 

 ning of the dorsal, which is white ; and a white spot as large as the orbit 

 extends downward, and slightly backward from the eye. These marks are 

 very distinct, and they give the specimen quite a different appearance from 

 that of another of the same size and origin, uniform in coloration. 



