IN THE SOUTH-WESTERN DISTRICT. 135 



scarce about the middle of the tail ; larger black chromatophores occur 

 along the edges of the dorsal and of the posterior part of the ventral 

 marginal fins. 



Seeing that they were taken on the inner Eddystone ground, a haunt 

 of Hk. norvcgicus, it is not improbable that these larva? belong to that 

 species, but in view of the resemblance of the larger specimen to the 

 Irish larvre, which appear to belong to P. unimaculatus, I am not 

 inclined to make any positive assertion without further material. 



A larger sinistral larva, taken from the stomach of a gurnard 

 {T. lineata) on the 10th June, is so macerated that it is only possible to 

 say that it has no spines and bears, in conformation, a fair resemblance 

 to Rh. norvegicus. The total length is about 9"5 mm. ; the eye is on the 

 ridge. 



Arnoglossus laterna. Gilnther. Scald fish, Scaldback. 



Since the last number of this journal was published I have had no 

 further opportunity of measuring ova taken from the parent, but, as 

 may be seen from the records, tow-net specimens, certainly referable to 

 this species, were taken up to the 29th July. They cannot be regarded 

 either as particularly rare or as specially confined to the lower strata of 

 the water. The last egg belonging to the genus was observed on the 

 3rd August. 



The difference already noted as existing between ova taken from the 

 small undifferentiated females and those from large specimens with 

 elongated dorsal rays seems to be accidental. Large females yielded 

 ova of "75 to '76 mm., with a globule of 12 to '13 mm., while small 

 females gave ova of '67 to '69 mm., with a globule of '14 to 15 mm. 

 The difference in the size of the egg might be regarded as correlated to 

 the size of the parent, but it was not apparent why the smaller egg 

 should have the larger globule, if the two forms belong to the same 

 species. 



Tow-net eggs have since been found measuring 'Go and "06 mm., 

 in both cases with an oil-globule of 13 mm. They can be identified 

 from the characters of the larva with A. laterna. It follows that the 

 full variation in the dimensions of the ova of this species, and of the 

 proportionate size of the oil-globule, are not represented by the 

 measurements which I took from the spawn of a few specimens. 



Regarding A. conspersus of the Mediterranean as not entitled to 

 specific distinction from A. laterna, my observations suggest that 

 the northern representatives have larger eggs than the southern. Ova 

 measured at Marseilles range from -Gl to -GS mm., with an oil-globule 

 of 11 to 13 mm. The larva is also smaller, but, allowing for variation 

 observed in both localities, identical in pigment and other characters 



