Jordan and Evennann. — Fishes of N'ortJi America. 2117 



curves up beliind the eye ; another series of 7 on each side passes from the 

 middle of the chin back and upward toward the upper edge of the gill 

 opening. Eye small, nearly as long as the snout, contained 4A times in 

 the length of the head, or loss than twice in the convex interorbital 

 space. Nasal tubules short; posterior smaller l)etweeu the eyes; anterior 

 farther forward, larger. A. large pore is situated a short distance in front 

 of the nostril toward the tip of the snout. Gill openings narrow, not as 

 wide as the eye, above the base of the pectoral. Nape and shoulders 

 high. Cheeks swollen. Skin smooth, thm, easily detached. Dorsal and 

 anal lins rising gradually, the rays attaining their greatest height in the 

 hinder third of the length, united with the caudal by membrane. The 

 separation of the 3 lins is less marked than in X inontagm, so much so 

 that it is difficult in some cases to determine whether certain rays belong 

 to the caudal. Dorsal notch shallow or absent, most noticeable in the 

 breeding season. First ray little farther back than the opercular angle, 

 or the hinder edge of the disk ; 5 or 6 of the anterior rays crooked and 

 twisted, and without apparent segmentation. Evidently 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 tirst ray is about 

 opposite the seventh or eighth ray of the dorsal; the fin extends farther 

 back than the latter, reaching under nearly \ of the caudal. Caudal 

 slightly rounded posteriorly, the longest rays being ^ to f of length of 

 the head. Disk subcircular, \ as long as the head, equal the distance 

 from the chin, less than the distance to the anal. Vent nearly halfway 

 from disk to first anal ray, which latter is halfway between the snout and 

 the base of the caudal. The position varies in the sexes. The body cav- 

 ity is longer in the females, and the A'ent is farther back ; this api)lies to 

 all the species. Pectorals broad, deeply notched below the middle of the 

 hind border ; rays of the lower portiou extending beyond the membrane, 

 a couple of the longer sometimes reaching almost as far back as the vent. 

 A slight fold of the skin unites the fins in front of the disk. Olive to 

 brown, light to dark, puncficulate and clouded, blotched, banded, ver- 

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

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

 individuals 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 vari- 

 ation, and not as characters indicating established varieties. On the 

 striped specimens the number of lines vary 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 posterior portions of the anal and the dorsal ; 

 frequently they take on the appearance of transverse bands, as is still 

 more often the case on the caudal. (Garman.) North Atlantic, on Itoth 

 shores; north to Spitzbergen, south to Connecticut and France; most 

 abundant in Northern Europe. Variable. '' The specimens in the museum 

 at Cambridge 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 



