SIIAXNY. 



215 



Midway between the eyes, tin- f'oreliend, the hrcidlli of 

 wliich is 14 % of the leuj^th of the licad in young speci- 

 mens and 16 ?tj in old, is somewhat coiicuxc; .-ind ])c- 

 liind the eyes, on the to]) of tlie hcnd .■ind the occiput, 

 we find a h)ngitudinal deiMn;d rid^c", which is gene- 

 r;iil\- only slightly marked. The antci'ioi' nosti'il is 

 situated about twice as near to the eye as to the lip 

 of the snout, and on a level with the lower mai'gin of 

 the eve: its margin is only slightly raised, hut grows 

 posteriorly into from \ to 7 dermal filaments. The 

 posterior nostril is a little round or ohlong opening, 

 nearer the eye and about level with the upper margin 

 of the pu]iil. The brancliiostegal membrane extends 

 back, in a small flap, to a, point just above the upper 

 corner of the axil; and underneath it is continuous 

 from one side of the body to the other, but so thoroughly 

 luiited to the isthmus that the breadth of the free dermal 

 fold in the middle is only about half the diameter of 

 the eye. 



The dorsal tin is distinctly divided into an anterior 

 part, which is short, and consists of simple and un- 

 articidated rays, and a posterior, the rays of which are 

 also simple, but articulated. Its length is about 61 or 

 62 % of that of the l)ody, and its height from 10 to 

 12 % of the latter. All the rays, except the 12th from 

 the beginning, which is the smallest, and also the last 

 of the unarticulated rays, project, to some extent at 

 least, al)ove the tin-membrane, the hrst three oi' four 

 most of all. The anterior part, which corresponds to 

 the spinous-rayed part in other cases, is as high as, 

 or slightly lower than, the posterior; and its length is 

 al)out 78 % of that of the latter. The anal tin is loAver 

 than the posterior part of the dorsal fin (its height is 

 about 9' 2 % of the length of the body), but in length 

 and structure it corresponds to the latter. The distance 

 from the tip of the snout to the beginning of the anal 

 fin is 47 or 48 % of the length of the body. In one 

 of the males we have examined, we found at the be- 

 ginning of the anal fin a vesiculate dermal swelling, 

 united to the first ray of the fin and representing the 

 anal papilla. The caudal fin is rounded, and its length 

 measures 7 or 8 % of that of the body. The pectoral 

 fins are also round: their length is less than that of 

 the abdominal cavity, being only about Vj of the length 

 of the body. A little in front of these fins we find the 

 singularly-formed venti-al fins, the length of which is 



almost half that of tlie head, and about half (more or 

 less) the distance l)etween them and the beginning of 

 the anal lin. The rays are gathered into two bunches, 

 each with a sepai'ate dermal coyering, which extends 

 about half-way along the fin. The outer (anterioi-) 

 hunch contains the short spinous ray, the length of 

 which is about a third of that of the second ray, to- 

 gether with the latter ray, which is simj)le and arti- 

 culated; the other bunch contains the two remaining 

 rays, which are also simple and articulated. Each 

 venti'al fin has thus the appearance of two fingeivs, the 

 inner one heing the longer, owing to the circumstance 

 that the middle soft ray is the longest in the fin. 



On the naked, slimy body the lateral line at first 

 hends slightly upwards towards the back, but soon 

 sinks again in a curve which ends above the beginning 

 of the anal Hn; from this point it advances in a straight 

 line almost along the middle of the sides of the tail. 

 It contains about 45 pores, the hindmost of which are, 

 ho^vever, not very distinct. Rows of small pores be- 

 neath the eyes and out on the snout, as well as at the 

 bottom of the cheeks and forward on the lower side 

 of the under-jaw, mark the extension of the system of 

 the lateral line on the head. 



The colouring of the Shanny is so variable that 

 one can scarcely find two individuals exactly alike in 

 this respect. The colours are most diversified and 

 brightest in young specimens, one of which is thus de- 

 scribed by LiLL.iEBOEG. "Upper part of the body dark 

 green, marbled with a somewhat darker tint and with 

 yellowish spots along the upper and lo^ver parts of the 

 sides. Dorsal and pectoral fins with dark stripes on 

 a lighter, greenish ground. Caudal fin with broad, 

 yellowish and dark greenish transverse bands. The anal 

 fin, the rays of which are tipped with white, is next 

 marked with a, blackish, longitudinal stripe, and yellowish 

 at the base. Ventral side and fins yellowish. Lower 

 side of the head yellowish, clouded with darker colour." 

 In a specimen 93 mm. in length, which has been pre- 

 served in spirits for ten years or so, we still find di- 

 stinct traces of five large spots, edged with white, 

 which in live specimens extend half-way up the dorsal 

 fin, the upper part of which is marked with a network 

 of smaller quadrilateral spots. Below the lateral line 

 we also find large dark spots, divided at the bottom. 

 The anal fin still retains its dark mar<rinal band, with 



Presuinnbly a sexual distiuction, peculiar to the males. "Der Nacken bei Mannchen selir fleischig," Steindachxer. 



