;}20 



SCANDINAVIAN FISHES. 



.iiituinii of 1880, ill the neighbourhood of Helsingborg, 



and is now preserved in the Museum of Luud University. 



On account of the manner of its occurrence the 



Dealfish can be of no economical value to man, though, 



according to information gained by Lilljeborg in Fin- 

 mark, it is fairly fat, "but the fat is soft and oih', and 

 readilv drains from the bod-\- after death." 



Genus REGALECUS. 



Anferior end of the licail tninctttc, irheii the iiioiifh is closed, and formed bi/ the perpeiidiciilar loirrr iiuuy/ti of 

 the iinder-jair. Sides of the hodii, n-Jiieh is silreri/, fitniished trith lonc/ifndinal, terete or flat ridf/es, hut irithout 

 spines on the t(tfer(d line". ('audal fn, anal fn and Jair-teeth irantinn in fidl-f/ron-n specimens''. Niiinl/er of 

 rays in tlie dorsal fn more than 300' . Branrhiosteffal rai/s G''. The bottom of the stomach siphoned, elongated 



i)i a tidmlar form behind the rod. 



Our knowledge of the genus Begalecus', the genus 

 of the Kings of the Herrings, which was first established 

 by AscANius', but soon afterwards recei\ed of Bloch^ 

 a name more widely-kno-wn since that time, that of 

 Gymnetrtts, is still more imperfect than of the ])receding 

 genus. BegalecKS ranks in more than one respect as 



have Ijeeii perfect in this respect. The most charac- 

 teristic point, however, is the structure of the stomach 

 and the intestinal canal. Whereas in Lophotes the vent 

 lies near the tip of the tail, in liegalecus, as in Tra- 

 chgpterus, it is placed considerably farther forward — 

 in this genus alwa-ss in front of the middle of the 



S2J7' 



1 



I I i I ■ ' ; 



Iieji vf li i mi vu v 



Fig. 8.5. Viscera of Regalecus glcKnc, after Hancock and Embleton. r: kidney; spr: supra-renal bodies; nr: iiiellira; ov: ovary; oe: leso- 

 phagiis; V, v: stomach; hep: liver; vf: gall-bladder; * ductus choledochus coniniunis; coec: pyloric appendages ;//; spleen: /.• iiitrstine (rectum); 



an: vent; vu: urinary bladder. 



ail intermediate form between TracJnjpteras and Lo- 

 photes. The protruded occiyjital region of the latter 

 genus, which appears to a certain degree in the larviv 

 of Trachypterus, is fairly distinctly reproduced in adult 

 specimens of Begalecns, and in this genus the lateral 

 line also extends straight forward alone: the head above 

 the eyes, to judge by the few specimens described that 



body. In Regalecus, however (fig. 85), the bottom 

 of the stomach (the jiosterior end above the pylo- 

 rus) is elongated into a long, tubular blind sac, which 

 extends back almost to the verv end of the tail. 

 Still, in other respects, the digestive canal is ex- 

 actly similar to that of Trachypterus, as described 

 above. 



" In Reijaleciis the spines at the base of the dorsal rays are generally wanting. Tlicy may also be present, but are even tlien small: 

 — see McCoy, Prodr. Zool. Vict., dec. XV, p. 169. 



'' LiNDiiOTii states, however, that in one specimen he found "the bead very short and blunt, with distinct strong teeth." Valenciennes 

 found teeth in botli jaws in Reijalecns gladius, but they were "so tine and short that they were impercejiliblo to the touch." The same 

 words recur in Jourdain, Vomptes Rendus 1872, p. 59. 



' The statements in which the nmnber of rays is less, have never been confirmed on examination of entire specimens. 



'' Hancock and Emuleton's "7 branchiostegal rays" is due, according to GiiNTHEl!, to a confusion between the suboperculum and these rays. 



*■ Latin vex and tudec {Herriiuj, strictly Herring-brine). 



■'' Icon. Rer. Nat., cab. II, p. 5 (1772). 



-" AusJ. Fifcli., part. IX, p. 94. 



