REVISION OF THE FISH FAMILY LIPARIDAE 77 



silvery. Gill slit extending down in front of nine pectoral rays. No 

 prickles. 



Origin of dorsal fin over gill flap; the rays increasing gradually in 

 length. Caudal rounded; connected for nearly one-half its length 

 to the dorsal fin, connected a little more than one-half its length to the 

 anal fin; a shallow notch between the dorsal and the caudal. Pectoral 

 notched; lower lobe of eight rays, reaching to nearly halfway between 

 disk and vent. 



Several types of coloration are exhibited by the specimens at hand : 

 (1) Skin translucent, with a purplish or brownish cast; fins dusky; eye 

 black. (2) Upper parts brownish; a series of white spots along the 

 sides, these bordered with dark brown in front and behind; fins 

 speckled and barred with brown; tips of rays whitish; eyes silvery. 

 (3) Body brownish, blotched with crossbars on body and fins; short 

 stripes radiating out from eye. (4) Brownish with purplish stripes 

 extending from snout to base of caudal; eye silvery ; peritoneum silvery 

 with scattered black dots. 



Synopsis. — Dorsal 42-43; anal 33-35; pectoral 34-39; plyoric coeca 

 64-90. Disk 2.1-2.7 in the head. Gill slit extending down in front of 

 five to nine pectoral rays. Dorsal fin unnotched. Dorsal fin con- 

 nected to the basal half of the caudal. No pricldes. Color variable. 

 A medium to large sized species, our largest specimen 161 mm. in 

 length. 



Remarks. — L. agassizii exhibits considerable variation in color and 

 general appearance, but there is little difl&culty in separating this 

 species from all others from the same region. The gill slit varies con- 

 siderably, extending down in front of from five to nine pectoral rays, 

 the normal condition being in front of seven or eight rays. A shallow 

 notch is usually present between the dorsal and the caudal fin. 



LIPARIS DENNYI Jordan and Starka 



Liparis dennyi Jordan and Staeks, 1895, p. 835, pi. 98.^ — Jordan ana Evermann, 

 1898, p. 2124, fig. 766. 



Type.— Mole, No. 3703, S. U. Z. M. ; Admiralty Inlet, Puget Sound; 

 Young Naturalists Society of Seattle. 



Distribution. — Coasts of Washington and northward to the Gulf of 

 Alaska; shallow waters down to 123 fathoms, rarely if ever found in 

 the tide pools. One hundred specimens examined. 



Relationships. — L. dennyi closely resembles L. gihhus of Bering 

 Sea. It can be distinguished from the latter species by the smaller 

 number of dorsal rays and sometimes by the presence of the dorsal 

 notch. The adults of L. dennyi appear to have a less projecting 

 snout and a deeper head than in L. gihhus. At present the regions 

 inhabited by the two species appear to join but not overlap, the 

 Alaska Peninsula serving as a barrier between the two. 



