38 BULLETIN 150, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Explanation of table. — The list of specimens refers, in nearly all 

 cases, to the specimens examined by the writer. When only a few 

 specimens are recorded for a species they are usually included. The 

 depth refers to the fathoms from which the species have been taken. 

 The depth for the tide-pool species is given as + . The gill-slit 

 column refers to the number of pectoral rays in front of which the 

 gill slit extends. The pores refer to the number of pores above the 

 gill slit. The disk refers to the number of times the diameter of the 

 disk is contained in the head. The eye refers to the number of times 

 the diameter of the eye is contained in the head. The dorso-caudal 

 connection refers to the proportional length of the connection between 

 the dorsal and caudal fins and the length of the caudal fin. The 

 variegated coloration means that the body or fins are speckled, barred, 

 or striped; the uniform coloration that the body and fins are not 

 variegated; the fight coloration that the body is whitish or pinkish; 

 the light to dusky or black coloration means that the body is whitish 

 or pinkish anteriorly and dusky or black toward the caudal. 



PART 2. SYSTEMATIC 



Family LIPARIDAE 



Family description. — Body cavity short ; tail more or less elongate ; 

 scales absent or represented by prickles; lateral line reduced to one 

 or two pores above the gill slit; third suborbital styHform, joined to 

 the preopercle as in the Cottoids and related families ; teeth tricuspid 

 or simple, in bands or single series, absent from the vomer and pala- 

 tines; premaxillaries sHghtly protractile; opercular bones unarmed, 

 the opercular arms sometimes projecting as spines; interopercle ray- 

 like, overlying the branchiostegals ; gill opening reduced, varying 

 much in size, never connected across the isthmus; gills 3J^, no slit 

 behind the last; pseudobranchiae rudimentary or absent; pyloric 

 coeca numerous to absent; branchiostegals 5 or 6; no air bladder; 

 ventral fins present or absent, when present 1-5, united to form a 

 sucking disk; dorsal fin continuous, sometimes notched, the spines 

 flexible; anal similar to the soft dorsal; pectoral fin broad, in some 

 species divided into an upper and lower lobe; vertebrae 35 to 70. 

 Genera 13; species 114. 



The Cyclopteridae and Liparidae may be distinguished as follows: 



A '. Body cavity elongate, about as long as the caudal region; anal fin with less 

 than 20 rays Cyclopteridae. 



A 2. Body cavity short, shorter than the caudal region; anal fin with more than 

 20 rays Liparidae . 



