1 . ANARRHICHA9. 209 



is about one-third of the greatest depth of the body. Body with 

 brown spots or cross-bars. 



Temperate coasts of the northern parts of Europe and of North 

 America. 



a. European variety : Back with brown cross-bars on the back, spot- 

 like in immature specimens. 



a-c. Adult and half-grown : stuffed and skin. Frith of Forth. 



d, e. Large specimens : stutfed. English coast. 



/. Fine specimen. 



g, h. Fine specimens : skins. From Mr. Yarrell's Collection. 



i. Dried half of a head of a large specimen. 



h. Half-grown : skin. From Gronow's Collection, 



I. Skull : injured. 



m. Adult : skeleton. English coast. 



/3. Amencan variety : Back and sides with numerous round brown 

 spots {^A. pantlumnus, maculatus, leojjctrdus). 



n-p. Large specimens ; stuffed and skins. Greenland. 



Skeleton. — The skull of Anarrhichas is similar in form to that of 

 a Blennius ; it is elevated, compressed, especially in it^ parietal and 

 sphenoidal portions ; all the bones are very solid. 



The intermaxillary is short and high, vertically situated, and joined 

 to the nasal by a broad articular surface ; the vertical portion of the 

 bone is armed with two large canine teeth, behind which are three 

 or four smaller ones ; the horizontal portion of the bone is small, 

 like a process, and bears a series of two or three small subconical 

 teeth, which are lost with age. The maxillary is long, sword-shaped, 

 slightly bent, and somewhat dilated at its posterior extremity. The 

 nasal bone (Owen) (ethmoid, Cu\-ier) forms a part of the upper surface 

 of the skull ; it has two large and slightly concave planes anteriorly 

 for the articulation with the intermaxillaries ; each of the planes is 

 provided with a small foramen, situated inwards from the centre, and 

 sometimes closed. The prefroyital itnvery large and thick ; it forms 

 entirely the anterior portion of the orbit, and is joined by sutm-es to 

 the principal frontal bones, to the nasal and vomer ; it is pierced by 

 a wide round foramen near the nasal bone, through which the nervus 

 olfactorius passes. The vomer is extremely thick and solid, bearing 

 two series of large molars, ten or twelve in nuniber ; they occupy the 

 whole of the inferior surface of the bone ; the articular planes of the 

 nasal bone extend also on the anterior part of the vomer. The 

 palatine bone is rather short in its longitudinal diameter ; it has a 

 deep articular cavity for the junction with the prefrontal, and an 

 oblique process before that cavity ; two series of conical or molar-like 

 teeth occupy its inferior siuface. The pterygoid and entopterygoid 

 are nearly straight, entirely bony, and slightly dilated posteriorly. 



The four- tympanic bones can easily be distinguished, and do not 

 show any peculiarities ; they are joined together by an intermediate 

 cartilaginous substance. The prceoperculum is crescent-shaped, ver- 



VOL. III. p 



