REVISION OF THE FISH FAMILY LIPARIDAE 9 



surface of the snout is split in Crystallias matsusTiimae. Barbels are 

 present on the snout in this species and also in Rhinoliparis. 



Eye. — The eye is distinctly larger in the deep-sea species. The 

 average number of times the eye is contained in the head in Liparis 

 is 6.5, in Careproctus 4, and in Paraliparis 3.8. 



The color of the eye varies from black to silver. The silvery 

 color apparently is confined mainly to the tide-pool and moderately 

 deep-water species of Liparis and Careproctus. 



The pupil is typically round or slightly oval. An exception is 

 found in Temnocora Candida in which the pupil is reduced to a slit. 

 In Orystallichthys mirahilis and related species the pupil is a slit with 

 the upper margin notched. These characters are constant, as the 

 pupil of fishes is only slightly, if at all, subject to muscular control. 

 With preservation or .maceration the shape of the pupil may be 

 modified. 



A^ostrils. — The nostrils are double in Liparis and Polypera and 

 single in all the other genera, the posterior nostril being lost in the 

 latter groups. The anterior nostril tube leads directly from the 

 ■olfactory cavity to the surface and usually projects above. The 

 posterior tube extends backward beneath the skin and opens above 

 the anterior part of the eye. In some forms it projects above the 

 surrounding surface and may have a fingerlike projection in front. 

 The two tubes are sometimes nearly equal in length though one is 

 entirely below the surface of the skin. In certain specialized species 

 of Liparis, as in L. major and L. tessellatus, the posterior nostril 

 opening is reduced and thus approaches the condition found in 

 Vareproctus. In Liparis and the more generalized species of Careproc- 

 tus the anterior nostril tube typically projects high above the surface 

 of the head; but in the more specialized forms of Careproctus and in 

 Paraliparis the tube opens at the surface or projects slightly above. 



Pores. — The lateral line in this family is reduced to 1 or 2 open 

 pores above the gill slit, 2 on the snout, a series of 6 extending along 

 the lower margin of the snout and eye to above the posterior margin 

 of the eye, and a series of 7 extending from the tip of the lower jaw 

 to the opercle. The pore formula may be designated as 2-6-7-2. 

 In many species rudimentary pores are present on the sides and 

 occiput. The rudimentary pores are present in many species of 

 Liparis and Careproctus. Their presence in many of the more 

 specialized members of the family has not been demonstrated. 

 They may occur in a single series extending back from the supra- 

 branchial pores or be somewhat scattered on the sides anteriorly and 

 on the nape. Each consists of a small papilla, the apex of which may 

 be indented or split, but there is never a distinct opening as in the 

 other pores. 



