212 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



OESCRIPTIOIV OF A :SWl\ir FISH FROITI AI>ASKA (ANARRHICBAS 

 L.EPTI;RU.«$), n^ITH IVOTFS UPON OTHER SPF€IFS OF THE 

 OFIVUS AlVARRHieilAS. 



By TABL.ETON H. B£A]V. 



The Uuited States Kational Museum lias received from Mr. Lucien M. 

 Turner a species of Anarrhichas, wliicli I at first hoped would prove to 

 be the orientalis of Pallas.* It differs, however, widely from the de- 

 scription of that species, and does not correspond with any other known 

 to me. 



Two specimens of the Alaskan AnarrhicJias were secured at St. 

 Michael's in 187C. These are the first and only representatives of tlie 

 genus from the Pacific in the Museum collection. 



One of them, No. 21509, is 600 minimetres long; the other, li'o. 21510, 

 is 495 millimetres. The lengths to the origin of the middle caudal rays 

 are 555 and 455 respectively, and with these all the other measurements 

 are compared. 



Description. — The greatest height of the body (.20) is contained 5 

 times in the unit of length, and equals the distance of the dorsal from 

 the end of the snout (.20). Its height at the pectorals (.17^) is contained 

 3 times in the distance of the anal from the snout (.52i). The least 

 height of the tail (.04 J) is contained twice in the lengtli of the middle 

 caudal rays (.09). 



The greatest length of the head (.24) equals 1^ times its greatest height 

 (.10), and is contained in the unit of length 4 times. The distance from 

 the nostril to the anterior margin of the orbit (.015) is contained 3 times 

 in the distance between the eyes (.045). The greatest width of the head 

 (.11) is a little less than half its length, and is contained 9 times in the 

 unit of length. The width of the interorbital area (.045) is about equal 

 to the length of the snout (.04-.045). The length of the upper jaw (.13) 

 equals 3 times the width of the interorbital area, and a little more than 

 one-half of the length of the head. The maxillary extends to the per- 

 pendicular through the middle of the length of the head, the angle of 

 the mouth being equally distant from the end of the snout and the end 

 of the opercular flap. 



The length of the mandible (.145) nearly equals that of the pectoral 

 (.15), and is contained 7 times in the unit of length. The mandible ex- 

 tends to a point about equally distant from the end of the snout and the 

 origin of the dorsal. There are four large canines in the upper jaw and 

 five in the lower, all of them strongly recurved. Behind the canines in 

 each jaw are a few short, sharp, conical teeth, also recurved. The pala- 

 tines are in two rows, 4 teeth in the outer and 5 in the inner series. The 

 teeth of the outer series are much the longer. Vomerine teeth ten, in 

 two series. The vomerine patch begins in advance of the palatines, and 



* Zoog. Rosso-Asiatica, iii, 1831, p. 77. 



