A.NCLKI!. 



143 



(li\ision of the iiiis as the anal. In the osseous tishes, in 

 most cases at least, only the u]>|h'i' sii|ipoi'ting I'aysofthe 

 caiulal till are developed above tlie iiotocliord (dorsally). 

 The hist staii^es of (le\-elopmeiit in tliis species which 

 Agassiz has figured, are active young specimens which 

 rove at the surface of the sea which was their cradle. 

 The step from their form to the stage tigured by RuP- 

 IMCLL irom a Mediterranean specimen and described by 

 Gunthek" (fig. o9), is no very great one. At this 

 stage the Angler with its fringes, if we compress its 

 head lalerally, as is shown in the figure, is not unlike 

 a < '(if Iks or a Scorpcsna. The rays of the pectoral fin, 

 like those of the ventral, are prolonged in a filiform 

 shape beyond tlie margin of the fin; and the base of 

 the latter fin is still more distinctly advanced, in front 

 of the insertion of the pectoral fins. The first five 

 ravs of the dorsal fin have received tlieir t}'pical co- 

 vering of filaments, and the whole of the anterior part 

 of the doi'sal fin is in its typical jiosition; but the first 

 rays, especially the first of all, are still comparatively 

 short, and, most important of all, the head is consid- 

 i'ral)lv shorter in proportion to the length of the body 

 at this stage than it becomes afterwards. The fin- 

 formula now is: 7). 1 + 1 + 1 + 3,12; A. 10; P. 23; 

 V. ' 5; C. 8. Starting from tliis form Gumther had 

 no (lifRculty in showing that Loplikis eunjpterus of v. 

 DuBEN and Koren (1. c.) was a young specimen of the 

 common Angler. The latter authors obtained their 

 specimens from the Norwegian coast off Stavanger and 

 Bergen and from the harbour of Christianssund, where 

 one specimen (fig. 40) was found actively swimming 

 at the surface, and was kept alive in a vessel for some 

 days after it was caught — "it liked to stand upside 

 down in the vessel, and often, too, swam on its back, 

 rooting with its snout in the bottom". At this stage 

 the pectoral fins have their full number of rays, which, 

 like those of the ventral fins, have lost their long, 

 filiform tips; but both the pectoral and the ventral fins 

 are still so large that tliis larval stage may in this 

 respect be set side by side \vith the largest-finned 

 Cottlda;. On account of their large size the pectoral 

 fins are folded internally (posteriorly) at right angles 

 to the rest of the fin. The fin-fonnula for this stage is 

 JJ. 1 + 1 + 1+3 12; J. 11; 1'. 27; Y. ' .; V. 1 +G + 1. 



The length of the Angler rises in ordinary cases 

 as liigli as 3 or 4 feet; but it is also stated to have 

 attained a length of even (i feet. Its life is that of a 

 treacherous l)andit. It lies idh', but in a carefully 

 chosen place, at the bottom of the sea, hidden among 

 seaweeds or stones. It can probably change its colo- 

 ration, which is by no means disagreeable, to suit the 

 sni'i-oundings. Sometimes, too, it bui-ies itself in the 

 mud, with onh' the mouth and the gill-openings free. 

 In this position it lies in anibusli for its prey. Per- 

 haps it also allures its prey hj means of the mobile, 

 anterior rays of the dorsal fin. in this case it must 

 do so chiefly Ijy means of the fii-st, the double fringe 

 of whicli may well be capable of imitating in its 

 movements some small, swimming moUusk, a small fish, 

 a worm or some other marine creature, if all the tales 

 of the Angler's cunnino; mode of fishin<j which the 

 ancient writers, from Aristotlk onwai'ds, have handed 

 down to us, l)e founded on actual observations. In anv 

 case, it is true enough that its mouth is a sure gi'ave 

 for any creature which allo^\•s itself to be enticed too 

 near the Angler, even if the victim be equal in size 

 to its devourer. The form of its body, too, is clearly 

 a })oint in favour of this assumption as to its way of 

 life, a life requiring no special powers of swimming, 

 which the Angler does not seem to possess. Ob- 

 servations have been made, however, which ])oint to a 

 different conclusion. Couch relates that a fisherman 

 had hooked a (Jodtish and was drawing up his line, 

 when he suddenly felt a new bite and a heavier weight 

 on the line: this proved to be an Angler which had 

 swallowed the Cod and was drawn up together with 

 it into the boat, where it was onh' after a heavy 

 blow on the head that it loosed its hold. A stUl 

 clearer proof of its activity in pursuit of its prey is 

 the fact that it has been seen seizing and devouring 

 swimming-birds'' at the surface of the water, while in 

 its stomach have been found diving-birds' which had 

 perhaps fallen victims to its voracity at the bottom of 

 the sea. Among the tales of its attacking fishes already 

 hooked, Couch relates that a Conger which had taken 

 the hook on a long-line, was swallowed by an Angler, 

 but struggled through its gill-apertui-es and in that 

 situation ^vas dra^vn up together with it. The Angler, 



<" Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., 1. c, Introd. Stud. Fish., p. 471 ami Handli. Iclith., p. 3.34. 

 * Fhalacrocufd.v carlio. Lams iinjentatus, (Jolymbiis glacialis, Anas penelope. 

 ' Uria trail e and AIca tarda. 



