454 



SCANDINAVIAN FISHES. 



into a flap that may be depressed, and close the opening 

 like a lid. On the eye side they are set just in front 

 of the interorbital carina, and on the blind side in a 

 straight line with the beginning of the doi-sal fin. The 

 mouth is large. The lower jaw ascends at an juigle 

 of rather more than forty-five degrees, and projects 

 onlj' slightl}- in front of the uppei-. The upper maxil- 

 lary bone, which broadens slightly behind, extends be- 

 low the anterior margin of the pupil of the lower eye, 

 the margin of the jaw being formed by the inter- 

 maxillary bone alone, which, like the lower jaw, is 

 clothed with a tumid, labial skin. The jaw-teeth are 

 numerous, fine, sharp, somewhat curved, and cardiform; 

 in front they are set in several rows, laterally almost 

 in a simple row, and they are finer on the eye side 

 than on the l)lind side. The pharyngeal teeth resemble 

 the jaw-teeth. The lower pharyngeals are armed witli 

 a fairly broad patch of teeth, of an elongated crescent- 

 shape and containing several rows. The palatal fold of 

 the upper jaw is fairly large. The intermaxillary bones 

 are fairly mobile. The branchiostegal membrane is fur- 

 nished on each side with 6 rather long, somewhat com- 

 pressed rays and one smaller ray, the latter set near the 

 median line. As in all the other Bothoids no part of the 

 margin of the opercular apparatus extends to the lower 

 edge of the body, but this margin curves upwards, 

 forming an angle with the lower jaw. The gill-opening 

 is large, extending from this angle some \vay above 

 the base of the pectoral fin, where the operculum and 

 siuboperculum form a blunt, projecting, free point. 



The lateral line starts from the temporal region, 

 on about a level with the middle of the upper eye, in 

 a slightly upward direction, but soon forms a regular 

 arch, extending over 12 — 14 scales, above the pectoral 

 fin, then an angle somewhat above the middle of the 

 body, and finally advances in a straight line to the 

 middle of the caudal fin. This straight i)art of the 

 lateral line is covered by 38 or 39 scales, ^vhich are 

 more obtuse in shape than the others, and are each 

 furnished with a muciferous canal. In an oblique row 

 backwards, we find about 20 — 22 scales between the 

 angle and the anal fin, and 15 or 16 betAveen it and 

 the dorsal fin. The scales are thus comparatively large, 

 though smaller than in PJatophrys (Arnoglossus) laterna, 

 in \\hich the scales are relatively larger than in any 

 of the Scandinavian Flatfishes. At the middle of the 

 body, above the lateral line, in a specimen 117 mm. 

 long, the scales are 2 mm. broad (high) and somewhat 



longer than broad, hexagonal, with regular, straight 

 sides and almost rectilinear angles, the base alone (the 

 inserted, anterior margin) being as usual sinuous and 

 irregular. The hindmost angle is rather more acute 

 than the others. As this angle is included by two 

 straight lines equal to each other, the visible part of 

 the scale forms a regular rhombus, ^vhich takes its 

 colour from the highly adhesive epidermis. The free 

 (hind) margin is bent somewhat, though only slightly, 

 out^vard, and with about 30 (somewhat feA\er on the 

 blind side), small, fine, straight spines, which are almost 

 recumbent but not depressed. In these scales, as is 

 generally the ease with ctenoid scales, the nucleus lies 

 near or at the tip. From this point the radiating lines 

 diverge to the whole extent of the base, and the con- 

 centric lines are not concentric \vith the liind margin, 

 but end therein parallel to each other. The scales 

 cover the whole body and iiead, except the mouth, 

 and all the fin-rays. 



The dorsal fin ]:)egins near the dorsal margin, on 

 the blind side. The first 4 — 6 rays are equal in length 

 and nearly half free, but there is no very prominent 

 ray. From this point the I'ays gradually increase in 

 length, the 55th — 6()th being longest, rather more tlian 

 half as long again as the first ray, and measuring 

 10 or 11 % of the length of the body. The remaining 

 rays decrease in length, and the last foui" or three are 

 rather short, l)ut, as in the species next to be described, 

 form a small, rounded lobe, which is inserted distinctly 

 on the blind side, though not so depressed as in the 

 next species. All the rays are free to some extent at 

 the tip, and branched, but this is not distinct in front 

 until the middle of the fin is reached. The last, small 

 rays are deeply branched, the last of all down to tlie 

 base. The anal fin begins verticalh' lielow the hind 

 margin of the preoperculum. It is throughout analogous 

 to the corresponding part of the dorsal fin, generally 

 equal to it in height, and ends opposite the termina- 

 tion thereof, with a similar lobe on the blind side. 

 The distance between the terminations of the dorsal 

 and anal fins is about 73 — 83 % of the least depth of the 

 tail. The pectoral fin of the eye side contains 10 rays, 

 all perfectly simple, a characteristic which is peculiar 

 to this species and Brepanopsetta platessoides. The 

 first ray is small and lies still closer to the second 

 than in the Whiff; the length of the second ray is '/j 

 of that of the fin. The fourth ray is the longest, its 

 length in young specimens being only slightly less 



