2004 Bulletin //, United States National 3hisciim. 



Oottut labradoricus* Gunthee, Cat., it, 163, 1860 ; Bean, rroc. U. S. Nat. Mus., iv, 1881, 128 ; 

 Jordan & Gilbeet, Synopsis, 704, 1883. 



the nares ; the largest over the posterior angles of the orhits, and the third, of inter- 

 mediate size, mi tlio orriput. The mouth is very capacious ; its margins are formed hy 

 the intermaxilljiii s him! lower .jaw; the maxillaries have an elongated wedge form, and 

 lie in a meniln anr li. Iiiml tlie intermaxillaries. Both jaws and vomer are set with bands 

 of 9 teeth, in vi lunis. Tipngno obtuse and smooth, as are tlu> palate and maxillaries. 

 The ]n-ciipt_Tiuliii]i is aniitd lii-m-atU with 3 strong, devaricati-d spines, the iiosterior one, 

 which measures i iiiili, Ix-iiii; flie luniicst. The gill covcis arc coiniinsril i.C several bones 

 coniiecteil liy iiii'uiliraiie, ami ainjed du tlie exterior edges with 4 or '< small, spinous teeth. 

 The bones which sujijioii ihe pectoial tins are also arini-d "w illi small s])iues, and have 

 sharp, rough edges. Tlie bramliiostegous membrane contains G slender, cylindi-ical, 

 curved rays. Tlie body is nnx h narrower than the head, and tapers to the insertion of the 

 caudal fin. The anus is situalcd midway betwepn the moutli and the caudal. The lateral 

 lino is rough, and I'uns ne.ir Ihe IkoK ; aliove it tliere is .a vow of small, orbicular, sca- 

 brous, l)ouv plates, the row bein- doiil,!, ,1 ,>|,i„,site 1.. 111.' ..rond dorsal. There are no 

 other i)ere<'idilde scales. 'Hi. jm, t,,ral llns ar.' siili..rl.i. iilar and e.mtain It! rays, none of 

 them branched: the uplier ray is s./abrons t hnini;lioul ; lli.- ..Ihers are .scabrous only 

 near tlu'ir middles. The ventrals, .soft and whitish, have :; rays, .d' which the tirst is the 

 strongesi, Iml mme of them are spinous. The flr.st dorsal . .'inim.'iic.s ]M.sterior to the 

 pectorals, and ti-ianinates opposite to the anus; it has 7 simph- r:i\ s ; tli.' s.'.-ond dorsal is 

 larger, and has 111 rays: its Commencement and termination conespond with those of the 

 anal, and nn.si of iis ia\ s are s. abrous: botli dorsals are rounded or arched. The anal fln 



occu))ii s al t ; oi till- sjia. .■ li.tu.i ii I lie anus and caudal, commencing near the former; 



this lin lie. (inn s sli:;liil\ l.iw.i or 1. ss deep posteriorly. The caudal is cuneiform, and 

 has 12 ra.N s, most of tiiem lorke<l. In the form of the bony jiroccsses on the top of the 

 head this species approaches closely to C. qvadrii-,,, m't: .d' ih.- lUdtic; but it does not 

 appear from the descriptions I have consulted that tin m is a .listinct pair on the nasal 

 hones of the latter. There are also differences in the bum ol I he s|iines of the preopercu- 

 lum, those of O. hexacornis being rjnit<- simple, w hih- in the otln r they are truncated, or 

 divided at the point. In the C. quii<lrii;,niis. also, there is a thh Iv spine on the 8ui)ra- 

 scapular bone, which is likewise trun.af.-.l : w hile in ('. h('.r((coniis, that hone, the lunner- 

 als, and the gill covers are merely armed with small, spiimus teelh: and the rows of 

 scales on the body ai'O diiferent. It appears to me liN.ly thai tli.' ('. •ivii'liicuruU. Sabine 

 (Zool., App. to Captain Parry's First Voyage, p. ccviiii, may b.' r.ally tin- ('. If.niminis. 

 Capt. J. C. Ross, who considers it to be the same with th.' C .viiy/V'/Kif/ '.s ot I'aliri.ius, says 

 that tliough very abundant on the Greenland Coast it is nnire rare in Ihe higher latitudes, 

 but several were taken on both sides of the peninsula of Boothia. The natives prize it 

 highly as an article of food, preferring it to codfish or salmon. The Esquimaux of 

 Boothia call it Kaneeok, the same name which the Greenlanders give to C. Green- 

 landicus. 



Color. — Of the upper aspect a clouded admixture of brocoli-brown and olive-green 

 tints; of the belly white. The fins are streaked with bluish black. Irides tinged with 

 red. 



Size.— About 7 inches in total length. 



Numerous specimens of this fish were caught in a net set in the mouth of a small river 

 near the Coppermine, and the above description is drawn up from notes written on the 

 spot. The subsequent calamities which befell that expedition having occasioned the loss 

 of all the specimens, no actual comparison has been made with other s]iecies ; but after an 

 inspection of the Cotti brought home by Captain Beechey, and an atientive perusal of the 

 Histoire des Poissons, I am satisfied that it diflers from all other described species in the 

 form of the horns or processes which arm the head, and in other particulars. From the 

 jiecnliar sliajie ..f these horns in our species it might bear the name of claviger still more 

 appr.i|iriately than the one so termed by M. valenciennen. The individuals that we 

 caught iclained life, long after they were drawn from the water, leaping vigorously o\'er 

 the sands, and whi'ii touched inflating the head. In this oiieratioii the branchiostegoiis 

 membrane is disti'iided, and the several pieces composing the gill i-overs are separated by 

 the cxtenshiii of the iiifer\ eiiing membranes. Our Canadian voyageurs were l)Oth aston- 

 ished and alarmed by these fisli, ami termed them ( 'ia])aiid8 de mer, probably from a kind 

 of croak they uttered when lirsl h.-imllcd. ( Uichardsou.) 



In 18-19, having again visilc.l th. sano- region, Khharilson procured more specimens of 



this form which he took h ■ with him. ile saw then that he had misunderstood his 



notes, and wroni;ly ascribed to V. hexacornis rostral horns of the same nature as the 

 characteristic horns of the head and nape, and that the form in question was no other 

 than ('. iiiKiil rii-i)i-nis, an opinion all must accept who, recalling this correction, will read 

 the old d.scription of Sir John. (Liitken.) 



♦Specimens ui Oncocottus labradoricus, Girard, are thus described by Dr. Bean ; 



Eye 5; snout nearly 5. D. X, 14; A. 14; V.I, 3; P. 17; C. 11 (developed). Two small 

 spines above the snout; a rough, irregular prominence above each orbit and 2 similar 

 ones on the occiput. The slioht depression on the crown becomes narrower posteriorly 

 where its width is about J the length of the space included between the supraorbital 

 and occipital prominences." Four preopercular spines. 2 of which are at the angle, the 

 uppermost and longest is f as long as the eye; the 2 lower spines are short and extend 

 downward and slightly forward. The length of the longest preopercular spine equals 

 the distance between the eyes measured on the bone. The maxillary is twice as long as 



