124 



SCANDINAVIAN FISHES. 



Qvart. 2, p. i)8; In., Fn. 6'nci: Lin., p. 361; Fabeh (Zeus), 

 Fische IsL, p. 132 ; Nii.ss. (Lampi'is), Prodi: Ichth. Scand., 

 p. 70; Cuv., Vai,., 1. c; Kroy., Danm. Fiske, vol. I, p. 

 280; Ekstk., Gbgs Vet., Vitt. Samh. Handl. Ny Tidsf., I, 

 p. 37; LiLLJEB., Vet.-Aknd. Handl. 1850, p. 333; Malm, 

 Ofvers. Vet.-Akad. FiJrh. 1852, p. 229; mhas., Skund. Fn., 

 Fisk., p. 150; Esm.. Forh. Skaud. Naturf. Mode, Christ. 

 18G8, p. 522; Coll., Vid. Selsk. Forh. Christ. 1874, Til- 

 Wgsh., p. 48; 1879, p. 31; Winth., Nattirh. Tidskr. Kbhvii, 

 ser. 3, vol. XII, p. 15; Id., ZooL Dan., Fiske. p. 21, tab. 

 IV, fig. 2; JoRD., GiLn., .Si/n. Fish. N. Amer., Bull. U. S. 

 Nat. Mils., No. 16, p. 453; Coll., N. Mag. f. Nalnrv. 

 Christ., Bd 29 (1884), p. 59; Lilljeb., -Sv., Noi-g. Fisk., 

 vol. I, p. 315. 

 Lampris lauta, Lowe, Hist. Fisli. Madeira, p. 27, tab. V. 



Obs. As the specific name employed by GuNNEiiUS is the oldest 

 biniiiiiial name of this species, according to the rules of custom it 

 must be restored, though it is faulty in the same way as Surda 

 pelamis, the name recognised above, as in most modern writers, thougli 

 Brunnich's use of it was also due to a mistaken determination of the 

 species. 



The 8pe'citic chjivacter given ;il>o\e is a suiiiiiiary 

 of a description wliich I have received in a letter from 

 Mr. 0. T. Olsex of Grimsby, of the coloration of a 

 newly caught Opah which was brought to the aI)ove 

 town in 1886. During life, or at least when uninjured 

 and with the scales intact, however, the fish, according 

 to I.owe's (1. c, p. 31) and Schneider's" descriptions. 



here, and thus could scarcely give any idea of the 

 colouring of the fish during life. It is highl)? probable 

 that the colour varies and tliat the red is part of its 

 fine dress during the spawning-season; but all descrip- 

 tions agree in setting the Opah among the most sho^vi- 

 ly-decked of fishes — "one of Neptune's courtiers in 

 full dress," writes one of Buffon's correspondents wlio 

 is quoted by Lacepede. 



The l)ody of the Opah seems to vary considerabh* 

 in depth. Collett mentions'' a specimen 109 cm. in 

 length and (i07 mm. in (lej)th, i. e. tlie (le])th al)out 

 56 % of the length, and another specimen'' 6 fi. in 

 length and 2 ft. 4 in. in depth, i. e. the depth about 

 3!) % of the length. To judge by these statements, in 

 the older specimens the body becomes considerabh- 

 elongated with age, while the height of the dorsal fin 

 and the length of the ventral fins, according to Va- 

 lenciennes' observation mentioned above, sink from 

 more tlian '/o the length of tlie body to ',4 or V5 

 of the same. Tlie thickness of the l)odv, according to 

 Lllljeborc;, is about 30 % of its depth. The length 

 of the head, according to Collett, varies between 30 

 % of the length of the body, in the smaller specimen 

 mentioned above, and 24 ?*, in the largei- one. The 



is red witli a lustre of transparent silver thoughout diameter of the eye, according to both Lowe and Lill- 



the body: according to Schneider, too, the oval white 

 spots do not occur in the living and uninjured fisli, 

 but first begin to appear wh<ii the scales drop oft'. 

 Lowe, on the other hand, asserts that these spots appear 

 more clearly and brightly through the scales, and de- 

 scribes the silverv lustre as being most distinct on the 



JEBORG, is about V. of the length of the head and 

 about ^'2 the l)readt]i of the intevurbital space. The 

 small oval nostrils, wiiicli are close to each other, are 

 set on a level witli the upi)er margin of the eye and 

 aljout half-way between the e^■e and the ti]> of the 

 snout. The mouth is small in comparison with that 



raised folds of skin \\lnch form the grooves for the I of the Mackerels, but capable of some, though only 

 dorsal and anal fins, and on the rows of scales which 1 slight, protrusion. The tongue is narrow, free and 

 occur between tlie rays of tlie caudal fin. Anteriorly, ! smooth, according lo Lowe. In the skeleton tlic lingual 



on the belly, he says, the white spots are sometimes 

 united into curved, verinitorm streaks. Hi her writers 

 do not insist so strongly upon tlie red colour of tlie 

 body, at least on the dorsal side; and the only s})eci- 

 men which has been received by the Royal Museum, 

 had lost most of its metallic lustre — even the white 

 spots were e.\tremely indistinct — and the up|ier half 

 of the body was dark, almost velvety, blue-black. This 

 specimen, which was caught in the Cattegat in August, 

 1873, was, howe\er, half decomposed when it arrived 



bone is cartilaginous; but the basihyal bones are large 

 and spongeous, the first pair being fairly long and 

 shai'ph' curved downwards — between their extremities 

 is placed the huge, triangular, basibranchiostegal bone 

 (Parker; iiyolii/dl, Owen), which hangs down in a 

 posterior direction. The number of branchiostegal rays 

 is 6; liut we must not forget to remark that not only 

 GuNNERUs among the old writers, but also Valenciennes, 

 Kroyek and Bakker'', ihe last both in the text and the 

 figure, have given 7. Thotigh there are two simple 



" See Collett, Cliiist. Vid. Selsk. Korli. 1879, No. 1, p. 32. 



^ N. Mag. Nalurv. 1884, p. 60. 



■■ Cliiist. Vid. Selsk. Forh. 1874, Till.-i'gsh. p. 49. 



'' 0.'<l(-ijraidiia I'isriitiii. Grrmingen 1822, p. 187, (ah. III. lig. III, 



