TADI'dLK I'lSII. 



561 



Its depth (the length of the Kjiiyest rays) is alxnit 9 

 or 10 % of the length of tlie hody. 



Tlic anal tin is of tlie same form ;iii(l the same 

 extent in a hackward dircclidn as the second dorsal; 

 l>ut the interval between this lin and the caudal fni is 

 sometimes more distinct, though only inconsideraljje, 

 and the tin is shorter. The distance between the tip 

 of the snout and the beginning of this fin is 37 — 38 % of 

 the length of the body in young specimens, 40 — 43 % 

 in old, and its base usually measures about 45 % of 

 the lengtli of the body. 



The caudal tin is comparatively small, with narrow 

 base and expanded, rounded hind margin. In young 

 specimens the length of its middle rays is about Yl %, 

 in older ones 10 — g'/g %, of the length of the bodj'. 



The entire coloration of this fish is very monoto- 

 nous, of a deep broAvnish black with a bright and 

 handsome, l)lue lustre, which thi'ows brilliant lights on 

 the smooth surface of the body. The skin of the 

 mouth and the grooves which receive the upper jaw 

 and the labial skin, are whitish. The iris is yellowish, 

 and tlie pupil has a blue lustre. The fins are of the 

 general colour of the bod)', but the free tips of the 

 ventral rays, the extreme margin of the whole of the 

 second dorsal fin, of the beginning of the anal tin, and 

 of the top of the caudal fin are whitish. After the 

 death of the fish, the colours fade and turn reddish, 

 and the lustre disappears. A young specimen 13 mm. 

 long which Malm caught on the 23rd of July, 1875, 

 in Lunnevik (Gaso, BohusliVn), was entirely whitish, 

 with the exception of tlie ventral fins, which were deep 

 black, while a blackish brown pigment also appeared 

 on the head, the front part of the sides, and across 

 the occipital region. Still, the typical form of the species 

 Avas already developed. 



In its internal structure the Tadpole Fish essentially 

 resembles the Cods, and the abdominal cavity extends 

 some A\'i)y, though not very far, behind the beginning 

 of the anal fin. But the character that sharply separ- 

 ates this fish from most of the preceding genera, is 

 that the numerous pyloric appendages of the other ge- 

 nera are here Avanting. The Tadpole Fish is furnished 

 merely with two (sometimes only one) short projections 

 or expansions of the intestine, rudimentary traces of 

 these appendages, and occupying the same position. 

 The air-bladder is divided into two parts, the anterior 

 larger and more expanded in a lateral direction than 

 the posterior. 



Scandinavian Fishes. 



r)ii account lA its black colovu' tlic Tad|)ole Fish is 

 known at some spots in the island-belt of BolmslSn as 

 Siiied (Blacksmith) and Bldckfisk (Ink-lisli). It is also 

 called Maffar (l>readwiuner), I'mUlnl (Toad FeJ), and 

 lliilcktilju (Cave Haddock). In the Sound, according to 

 Sc'iiAGKUsTKOM, it bcars the name oi Ha fpadda (Se-dToad). 



The geographical range of the Tadpole Fish ex- 

 tends from the neighbourhood of Trondhjem to England, 

 Ireland, and the coasts of the Channel, but on tiie north- 

 west coast of France, according to Moueau, it is ex- 

 tremely rare. It is no common fish on the English 

 coast either, and seems, thei-efore, to be really Scandi- 

 navian. It occurs Ixitli on the Norwegian coast and on 

 the coast of Bohushln as well as throughout the Catte- 

 gat. Fi-om the last locality it occasionally enters the 

 Sound and Ise Fjord, and passes through the Belts 

 down to the neighbourhood of Kiel and the coast of 

 Mecklenburg. On the Baltic coast of Scania, however, 

 this species has not been found. 



Its habits probably resemble those of the preceding 

 genus, and it is usually found in solitarj' specimens at 

 rather shallow spots (in 5 — 12 fatlioms of water, ac- 

 cording to Malm), among the seaAveed at the bottom. Off 

 Kullen, however, according to NiLSSox, it sometimes 

 happens, in late autumn, that three or four specimens 

 are taken in one and the same Cod-net. Otherwise it 

 is caught only by accident in every kind of fishing- 

 tackle, such as lobster or crab pots etc., but on the 

 coast of Bohusliin, according to FiUES, oftenest on 

 Haddock-lines, when these are set during autumn at 

 shallow, Aveedy spots for the so-called Grass Cod. That 

 it also descends to greater depths is shoAvn by a large 

 specimen Avhich Mr. C. A. Haxssox has forwarded to 

 the Royal Museum, and Avhich Avas taken at a de])th 

 of 40 or 50 fathoms in Stromstad Fjoi-d. 



Its food is composed of all kinds of loAvcr marine 

 animals, such as crustaceans, raollusks, Avorms, and 

 especially Echinoderms (sea-urchins and star-fish), frag- 

 ments of Avhich have been found in its stomacli and 

 intestine. But it is by no means averse to fish, for in 

 tAvo of the specimens Ave have examined we found the 

 stomach in each case to contain the head of a small 

 Herring. 



NiLSSON Avas told at Kullen that the Tadp(jle Fish 

 spawns betAveen Martinmas and Christmas, but this is 

 probably an exception to the general rule. In tlie month 

 of July Fkies obsei'ved on the coast of l)oluislan 

 tAvo Tadpole Fish that kept close to each other, and. 



71 



