104 



Sidelinie. samt tildels Legemsbygning stemmede overens 

 raed den nævnte Art. medens det dog var indlysende, at 

 der fandt enkelte Uoverensstemmelser Sted mellem dem. 

 Den fornyede Undersøgelse, som jeg ved Dr. Liitkens og 

 Prof. Steindachner's Yelvillie har været istand til at an- 

 stille ogsaa i det sidst forløbne Aar over Typ-Exemplarerne 

 af L. reticulatus fra Grønland i Kjobenhavner-Musæet og i 

 Musæet i Wien, sammenholdt med de Resultater, hvortil 

 Dr. Liitkens egne Undersogelser over disse Individer have 

 ført (Vid. Medd. Nat. Foren. Kbhvn. 1880, p. 307), har dog 

 bevirket, at jeg i Overensstemmelse med den nævnte Forsker 

 anser det rettest at opføre det spitsbergenske Individ under 

 en egen Art, for hvilken Navnet L. lutkenii foreslaaes. 



Sammenlignet med L. reticulatus udmærker den nye 

 Art sig va j sentlig ved følgende : 



Medens Farven hos alle de i Kjobenhavner-Musæet 

 opbevarede udvoxede Ind. af L. reticulatus, tilligemed et. lige- 

 ledes udvoxet og udmærket vel bevaret Ind., der opbevares 

 i Musæet i Wien. er characteristisk ved sine (oprindelig af 

 mørke Felter fremgaaede) reticulerede sorte Linier, der 

 omgive Felter af den lysere Bundfarve. og som ere stillede 

 i mere eller mindre regelmæssig Række nedad Legemet, er 

 hos det nye Individ (L. lutkenii) neppe Spor af disse sorte 

 Linier, men Bundfarven er her lyst graaagtig. kun med yderst 

 svage Antydninger til mørke Felter over Kroppen, medens 

 derimod Dorsalen viser afvexlende sorte og lyse Partier; 

 endvidere mangler Snuden de hvide, skarpt markerede ring- 

 formige Tegninger, der tindes hos næsten alle Individer af 

 L. reticulatus. 



Legemsbygningen er hos L. lutkenii mere undersætsig. 

 Hos L. reticulatus indeholdes Legemets Højde 7 — 8 Gange 

 i Totalhengden. hos L. lutkenii neppe 6Vs Gange i denne. 



Den, som det synes, mest paafahlende Ulighed mel- 

 lem begge Arter frembyder Pectoralernes Bygning. Hos 

 L. lutkenii ere nemlig disse' større og bredere, end hos uo- 

 gen af de øvrige bekjendte Lycoder. og udbredes de vifte- 

 formigt. rage de. uagtet Individets betydelige Legemshøjde, 

 et godt Stykke udover Legemets Ryg- og Bugside. I To- 

 talhengden indeholdes de blot 5 1 /» Gange, medens de hos 

 L. reticulatus indeholdes 7 — 9 Gange i denne. Fremdeles 

 er Straaleantallet højere hos L. lutkenii, nemlig 23, medens 

 Dr. Liitken hos den anden Art har kun sjeldent fundet 

 21. men i Regelen blot 19— 20. 



lovrigt ere. som ovenfor berørt, Overensstemmelsene 

 mellem begge Arter ganske betydelige, og der tindes ingen 

 væsentlig Forskjel i Sideliniens og Tændernes Bygning, 

 eller i Skjælbeklædningens Udstrækning, ligesom de 2 Ar- 

 ter idethele maa siges at være overensstemmende i sit al- 

 mindelige ydre Habitus. Sandsynligvis bør de dog opfattes 

 som 2 nærstaaende Arter, der i sin udvoxede Stand kunne 

 adskilles ved de ovenfor paapegede Forskjelligheder i Far- 

 vetegning. Legemshøjde, og i Pectoralernes Bygning; om 

 de derimod i sine yngre Stadier vise en ligesaa paatagelig 

 Forskjel, er os endnu ganske ubekjendt. men idethele min- 

 dre sandsynligt. 



the lateral line, the scales, and to a certain extent the structure 

 of the body, with that species, though several minor points 

 of divergence evidently existed between them. The subse- 

 quent examination which Dr. Liitken and Prof. Stein- 

 dachner kindly enabled me to make last year of the typ- 

 ical specimens from Greenland, preserved in the museums 

 of Copenhagen and Vienna, tested by the results with 

 which Dr. Liitkens own researches in connexion with the 

 said individuals have been attended (Vid. Medd. Naturh. 

 Foren. Kbhvn. 1880. p. 307). induces me to establish the 

 Spitsbergen example, in accordance with the views of that 

 naturalist, as a separate species, for which the name of 

 L. Vit ken i i is suggested. 



Compared with L. reticulatus. the new species is 

 chiefly distinguished by the following characteristics: — 



The coloration in all the full-grown examples of L. reti- 

 culatus preserved in the Copenhagen museum, and in one. 

 also an adult and in an excellent state of preservation, in the 

 museum at Vienna, is characterised by reticular black lines 

 (issuing from dark patches), which surround large patches 

 of the lighter ground-colour, and are arranged in a more 

 or less regular series extending down the body, whereas 

 there is scarcely a trace of these black lines in the spec- 

 imen of L. lutkenii : the ground-colour in this individual is 

 a light grey, with but the faintest indications of dark patches 

 over the body ; the dorsal, on the other hand, exhibits 

 an alternation of dark and light patches ; moreover, the 

 snout has none of the white annular markings observed in 

 almost all individuals of L. reticulatus. 



The structure of the body in L. liitken i i is more thick- 

 set. In L. reticulatus, the height of the body is contained 

 7 — 8 times in the total length ; in L. lutkenii, not quite 6 1 /-- 



But the most striking dissimilarity between the two 

 species is, I . think, exhibited in the structure of the 

 pectorals. In L. liitkenii, these fins are larger and broader 

 than in any of the other Lycodes, and. spreading like a 

 fan, they project, notwithstanding the very considerable 

 depth of body, some distance above and below the dorsal 

 and ventral margins. They are contained only 5 times 

 and a half in the total length, whereas in L. reticulatus 

 they are contained 7 — 9 times. Moreover, the number of 

 rays is greater in L. lutkenii. viz. 23, whereas in the other 

 species Dr. Liitken has only once found 21. generally not 

 more than 19—20. 



For the rest, the two species resemble each other 

 closely, and there is no material difference in the lateral 

 line, or in the structure of the teeth, or in the extent of 

 the scaled integument; on the whole, too. they must be 

 said to agree in their habitus. Probably, however, they 

 should be regarded as nearly related species, which in the 

 adult stage of growth may be distinguished by the differen- 

 ces pointed out above in the coloration, the height of the 

 body, and the structure of the pectorals; but whether 

 they exhibit an equally obvious distinction in the earlier 

 stages of development, is a question which we are as yet 

 wholly unable to answer; that such should be the case is 

 however not very probable. 



