240 procep:dings of united states national museum. 



DESCRIPTIONS OF Plujsiculus fidnis aiul Loiella marillaris, NEW SPECIES 

 OF FISHES COLLECTED IN 1881 BY THE UNITED STATES FISH 

 COMMISSION. 



By TARI.,ETOIV H. BEAIV, 



Curator, Department of Fishes, United States National Museum. 



The gadoid fishes described below have been withheld from publica- 

 tion for some time with the expectation that larger examples of the 

 same species would be secured by one of the steamers of the Fish Com- 

 mission, No additional material, however, h^s been obtained, and fur- 

 ther delay seems undesirable. 



Physiculus fulvus, n. 8. 



Physiculus dalicif/lii has been credited to the fauna of the western 

 Atlantic by Jordan and Gilbert (Syn. Fishes North America, 1883, p. 

 801). The description was borrowed from Giiuther's Catalogue, and 

 the species was recorded on the strength of a doubtful identification 

 with Fhysicuhis dahcigkii, of a si)ecies of LoieUa{^.), which seems to be 

 still undescribed. There is in the collection a species of Physiculus re- 

 lated to dalwigJxii and represented by three young examples which were 

 obtained at Station 941 in 76 fathoms. The catalogue number of these 

 specimens is 287G6. They were taken August 4, 1881, in north latitude 

 40° 01' and west longitude 69° 50', by the United States Fish Commis- 

 sion steamer Fish Hawk. The largest of these examples is 3^ inches 

 in length. It is one of the three individuals referred to in my list of 

 fishes published by Professor Verrill in American Journal Science and 

 Arts, vol. xxii, 1881, p. 290, under the name Physiculus, sp. It is num- 

 ber 15 of that list. 



Description. — The head is broad and depressed, with a short snout ; 

 the length of the head is contained in the total length to the caudal 

 base nearly 4 times. The height of the body is about equal to the 

 length of the head without the snout, and is contained 4§ times m the 

 total length without caudal. The eye is about two-sevenths as long as 

 the head. The length of the upper jaw is about equal to the space be- 

 tween the ventrals and the anal origin, and is contained 2| times in that 

 of the head. The maxilla does not quite reach the vertical through the 

 hind margin of the eye. The barbel is one-sixth as long as the head. 

 The teeth are in narrow bands in the jaws ; there is no outer series of 

 enlarged teeth, but a few in the middle of the bands in both jaws are 

 slightly larger than the others ; all of the teeth, however, are incon- 

 spicuous ; the vomer and palate are smooth. The vent is situated 

 about under the third ray of the first dorsal. The dista,nce of the first 

 dorsal from the tip of the snout equals 3 times the length of its base ; 

 its longest raj^ equals twice the length of the snout, and slightly ex- 

 ceeds the length of the longest of the second dorsal ; the length of the 



