JOHN i)()i;v. 



307 



oasil\- i'ecogms;il)lc', especially wlicn the l>l;H-k, latt-i'iil 

 snot is still to be tuuiul. Its recoffuitioii is also facilitated 



oii<i' a])])endages ol' the tin-iuein- 



considerably b)- tli( 

 braiie of the first dorsal tin and llie i>r('at length of the 

 ventral tins". On closer examination, howevei', the head'' 

 is the most striking point, for with the eyes set high 

 and rather far back, though 1)\- no means sinair, it re- 

 minds lis somewhat of that of a pig. It is most 

 singular in ap])earance when the mcjuth is protruded. 



and almost round, the posterior lieiug oblong and 

 pcrp<'ndicular. 



The base of the spinous-ra>ed dorsal tin is about 

 equal in length to that of the soft-rayed, which, on the 

 other hand, is somewhat lon<i-er and hiiihei' than the 

 soft anal tin, to ^\■hich it is analogous in other I'espects. 

 l^oth the latter tins are rounded at the margin and have 

 the longest rays in the posterior half, the longest ray 

 in the soft dcji'sal tin beiu'!' about half as long as the 



The nasal (frontal) |)rocesses of the intermaxillarv Ijones [ caudal tin. The margin of the caudal fin is also slightly 

 are so long that their point, when they ai'c drawn back, j rounded (convex), the outer branched ravs being, how- 

 i. e. when the mouth is closed, extends up to the fore- ; ever, .slightly longer than tlie middle ones. Its relative 

 iiead between the eyes'', where, on the to]i of the head, length'' diminishes with increasing age. Tlie |)ectoral 



fins are small'' and rounded, with few rays, and .situat- 



tliey slide in a groove extending along the whole length 

 of the frontal bones, wliieh is somewhat broader at the 

 beginning and end, and the margins of which end 

 in the above-mentioned spines, which really belong to 

 the fi'ontal bones, ])ut are situated as though they were 

 occipital spines. The great length of the nasal processes 

 of the intermaxillarv bones enables the fish to protrude 

 the mouth so far that the snout, which is then extended 

 in u lateral direction as well, becomes considerably 

 larger than the rest of the head. The tlat maxillary 

 bones' then turn in their articulation, which is covered 

 1)}- the front part of the ])reorbitaJ bone, and assume a 

 \ertically doAvnward or forAvard position. By this ac- 

 tion evei-ything immediatelv in front of the fish is 

 sucked into the mouth, and when the latter is again 

 closed, the capture may be no small one. The lower 

 jaw' always projects beyond the uppei', Init \vhen the 

 mouth is closed, the difference is less apparent. 



ed below the middle of the sides and Ix^hind tlie 

 perpendicular from the insertion of the ventral fins. 

 Their length in young specimens is more than lialf 

 that of the lower jaw, but in older ones equal to or, 

 eventually, less than this measurement. 



The lateral line forms a sloping curve from the 

 temporal region to the middle of the side, just in front 

 of the perpendicular from the middle of the base of 

 the soft-rayed dorsal fin, from which point it runs 

 in a straight line to the middle of the base of the 

 caudal fin. 



The Dor}- attains a lengtli of about 5 dm., accord- 

 ing to Coucu, 6 dm., according to Moreau. Its ma- 

 ximum weight on the English coast, according to the 

 former A\'riter, is about 8 kgrm. As Ave ma^" easily 

 see by the shape of the fish, it can scarceh" be regarded 

 as possessing any great ]jower of swimming. The deep 



The two nostrils on each side are set close to the I body may indeed be steered and maintained in an upright 

 anterior orbital margin, being mutually separated only position by the help of the long Acntral fins and the 

 by a narrow dermal wall. The anterior is the smaller high, spiuous-rayed dorsal fin with its long, dermal 



" Tlie rel.itive length of the ventral fins decreases dnring growth from 38 "» of the lengtli of the body, in the youngest of our spe- 

 cimens, to 20',.,, in the oldest specimen. 



'' The relative length of tlie head, measured from the anterior margin of the articulation of the maxillary bones to the end of the 

 opercular flap, apparently undergoes but slight change of grovvtii, varying in our specimens between 29 and 31 '« (29'1 — 30'9) of the length 

 of the body. 



"■ The longitudinal diameter of the eye varies with age, in our specimens, between 9 and about 8 % (9'1 — 8"2) of the length of the 

 body or 30 and 27 % (30-5— 27-3) of the length of the head. 



■' The distance from the middle of the anterior margin of the intermaxillary bones to the tip of their nasal processes is about equal 

 to (sometimes somewhat less than) the length of the maxillary bones or of the interoperenlnm, equal to the distance from the anterior margin 

 of the preorbital bone to the liind margin of the preopercnlimi, twice the longitudinal diameter of the orbit, or half the depth of the body 

 at the beginning of the soft-rayed dorsal fin; but in young specimens somewhat less than the last measurement. 



' The length of the maxillary bones varies in diiferent individuals between about 19 and 20',., % (19'1 — 20'4) of the length of the 

 body. They are Hat even above the articulation and the upper (anterior) end is as broad as the lower, but at the articulation they are narrowed. 



•' The length of the lower jaw, including the angidar spine, varies between 23 and 25 "• (23'0 — 24'7) of the length of the body. 



■" In the smallest four of our specimens the length of the middle rays of the caudal fin varies between about 24 and 22 % of that of 

 the body. In the largest specimen the caudal fin is damaged, but its length seems to have been scarcely more than 16 % of that of the body. 



'' The relative length of thr pectoral fins also decreases during growth, in onr specimens, from about l.S to 11 °i (13'2 — 11'2) of 

 the length of the bodv. 



