222 



SCANDINAVIAN FI.SHE.S. 



rest of it consists of from 40 to 42 articulated, soft 

 rays, which are as it were divided at the point, or at 

 least show traces of a di\-ision there. The pectoral 

 iins are oval and very small, their length being about 

 half the depth of the body, or, in old specimens, less. 

 They are inserted very low, tlie upper end of the axil 

 occupying the top of the lo^vest thii'd of the depth of 

 tlie body. They contain 11 or 12 rays", the first three 

 of which mav be simple; the 6th and 7th are the 

 longest. The ventral fins are extremely small, almost 

 rudimentary, and are set close to each other, very 

 sli'ditly in front of the pectoral fins. At first sight they 

 seem to consist of only one small, hard and very sharp 

 ray, which is very thick at the base, in length about 

 '/o tlie diameter of the eye, and enveloped in a thick 

 fin-membrane with a somewhat widened rim; but on 

 closer examination we find in the skin an inner, smaller, 

 soft ray, closely joined to the outer one. The caudal 

 fin is also very small, being of about the same length 

 as the pectoral fins. When expanded, it acquires a 

 handsome, rounded shape. It contains from 18 to 20 

 rays in all, the outer ones being exti-emely small, 

 simple and articulated, the middle 13 or 14 bi-anched 

 at the tip. 



The colouring is yellowisli brown, ^vith indistinct, 

 irregular, confluent, lighter, roundish spots, which give 

 the body a mottled appearance. Under a magnifying- 

 glass the skin also displays numbers of black dots, 

 with which it is thickly besprinkled. Sides of the head 

 pale. From the eye a black streak runs vertically 

 doA\n\vards to the articulation of the lo-\ver ja^v. The 

 regions of the gill-cover, the branchiostegal membrane, 

 the isthmus and the ventral and pectoral fins flame- 

 yellow. Iris of a glossy, dark, greenish yello^v, with 

 a yellow ring round the i)Upil. Along the Ijack, at a 

 fixed distance from each other we find 10 (sometimes 

 onlv 9, or even as many as 13) large, ocellated spots, 

 which extend out on the dorsal fin-membrane. These 

 s}jots arc roundish, l)ut irregular, and have a deep black 

 centre, surrounded by a yellowish white ring. The front 

 ones are generall)- the most distinct, the posterior ones 

 often dull or obliterated, and sometimes these spots 

 are entirely wanting''. In very young specimens, 31 V2 

 mm. long. Malm' dcscriljes these spots as being colour- 

 less, standing sharply out against the reddisli brown 



colour of the bod}^ whicli also extends o\ er the ver- 

 tical fins. The anal fin is of the same colour as the 

 body, but is edged with flame-yellow and marked with 

 indistinct, whitish spots, set in oblique rows, and thus 

 having the appearance of transverse bands, when the 

 fin is depressed. Caudal fin flame-yellow at the tip. 



The entire digestive canal is short and forms a 

 tube of almost uniform diameter, with a slight Avidening 

 for the stomach, which is small, and without any true 

 sac, or even any trace of pyloric appendages. It forms 

 some less marked curves, and bends in tlie shape of 

 ail S before opening into the vent. The liver, which 

 is pale livei"-brown in colour, really forms only one 

 lobe, envelops the stomach, and extends to the end of 

 the first quarter of the abdominal cavity. On its in- 

 side, just in front of this point, we find the gall-bladder, 

 Avhich is small. Air-bladder wanting. Urinary bladder 

 cylindrical, with long, tapering bottom, transparent, 

 and filled with a clear, colourless fluid. On cutting 

 open a gravid female, we find only one, large, cylin- 

 drical ovarA', -which fills nearly the whole of the ab- 

 dominal cavity from the vent to the end of the liver. 

 The ovary is then crammed with white eggs, almost 

 as large as a pin's head, and, on account of their ar- 

 rangement, hexagonal in shape, like the cells of a honey- 

 comb. In the male at the same season, we find two 

 long testicles of uniform breadth and yellowish white, 

 as usual, in colour, which lie close to each other, and 

 extend forwards to the end of the liver. 



Of the remarkable points in the skeleton we shall 

 point out only one, which has already been remarked 

 by Valenciennes. Both the abdominal and the caudal 

 vertebra?, with the exception of the first two or three 

 among the former, have the transverse processes turned 

 dowinvards and meeting each other, thus forming a 

 closed ring for each vertebra. The number of the 

 abdominal vertebra} is about 34, of the caudal about 51. 



The Swedish name of the Spotted Gunnel {Teste-, 

 Thie- or Tejsfcfisk) varies in different districts accord- 

 ing to the local form of the name of the black guille- 

 mot {Grissia or Teste). It has been named after this 

 bird, as being one of the small fishes which form the 

 chief part of the Ijlack guillemot's food. According to 

 NiLssoN it is called Srardfisk (Swordfish) at Kivik, on 

 account of its shape, and in Norway, according to 



" In a young specinifii, luiwevfr, we Imve found only !'• 



'' This variily is described by Oi.SSON in Of vers. Vet. x\kad. Forli. 18G7, p. 00.5. 



' Vet. Akfid. Ilandl., Bd. 7 (1Sr,7), No. 4, p. [, and r%.s Boh. Fii.. 1. c. 



