ONd.MOKl'IIS. 



581 



Faih. MACRURlDiE. 



Bodij rlaratc {wore or less fndjiole-like). irifli iiion- or less straiylit hark tnid coiicore {arcuate) cnudo-rentral 

 mari/iii, coiiijircssed, irifli vloi/i;(drd, more or less irhip-like tall; covered irith thhi Imt splnij, carinated or striated 

 scales. Xo distinct caiid<d fin {the vertical fins confiueiit Ix'liind), lint a ilistiiut anterior dorsal fin or at 

 least a trace thereof in the eloni/ation of the first dorsal rai/s. 'I'eeth on the /j/tcnna.rillnri/ Itones and in the lower 

 Jair, Iml the vomer, jndatine hones, and tonr/ne t(nithlcss: nmnllt hi(///li/ /irn/rnsilc. (lill-o/ieninf/s lan/e: hranchio- 

 stei/(d mcndirancs more or less united to each other, but free from the istlnnus. Branchiostcfjal rat/s (J or 7 . 

 Pseudohranchice wantinrj. Air-bladder present. Pyloric (tppendaf/es icell-developed. 



Here we liiive a t'iiiiii]\- consistiiiii' nlniost exehisixcly 

 of deep-sea lishes"; and besides the characters given 

 above we observe in the tirst place those peculiarities 

 wliicli .generally belong to such fislies, especially in the 

 loose structure of the head, with its ample space for 

 luuciferous canals. Two in particular of the cephalic 

 liimes, the nasal bones, are greatly enlarged, and form 

 the framework of the highly variable form of the snout in 

 tlie Grenadiers, as these tishes are called in Italy''. The 

 suborbital bones, which form the lower margin of tlu; 

 orbit, also afford an instance of a systematic peculiarity 

 rare among the Anacanthini. They sometimes develop a 



Amei'ican Jlahijiorphi/rns {Aidimora) viola' . In tiie cra- 

 nium, too, we find an evident sign of tlie relationship 

 to the Codfishes in the advanced development of tlie 

 styloid l)(jne (os opisthoticum). and tlie lobate process 

 erected in an upward and backward direction on the 

 hind part of the intermaxillary bones is also as well- 

 developed as in most of the Codfishes. Thus, the most 

 natui'al place of the; Grenadier- fishes in the system is 

 beside the Codfishes, as a remarkable variation of the 

 Anacanthine type, with a characteristic common among 

 deep-sea fishes in the reversion to or retention of the 

 original form of tlie tail without separate caudal fin'. 



ronnexion with the opercular apparatus similar to that j The primitive (paheichthyic) appearance of the (Trenadier- 



we have seen above in the Cotfomorphi and Cyclopteridee. 

 .\nother systematic exception might also be used as an 

 argument in favour of the inclusion of these fishes 

 among the Acauthoptei'ygians. The first large ray in the 

 anterior dorsal fin (really the second ray in the fin, the 

 tirst ray being extremely short and rudimentary) is a 

 irue spinous ray, without joints. These two points of 

 resemblance to the Acaiithopterygians might well induce 

 us to range the family Macruridce beside the Gurnards 

 and the Agonidce, according to Swainson's' proposal. 

 However, if we trace the form-series back to the least 

 differentiated Grenadier types', we find in the form of 

 the head the most distinct approximation to the Fhijcis 

 group, within which the relationship to the Grenadier- 

 fishes is also expressed in the form of the snout in the 



fishes also depends on the covering of scales. In one 

 species we find the scales rejilaced by ])rojecting si)ines 

 scattered in the skin. Oidy in few "species and in the 

 fry of other species do we meet with thin, f'ulh' t\i)ical 

 cycloid scales. In the rest of the family the scales are 

 generally furnished throughout their free surface with 

 spines or raised carina?, which give the fish a Ganoid 

 appearance. Bonapakte, therefore, referred the Grena- 

 dier-fishes to the order Ganoidei, when in 1837 he 

 established a special family^, Macrouridm, for these forms. 

 A juvenile form, Krohnius. is described by Cocco'' 

 and Emeky' as reminding us, by the long rays of the 

 ventral hns and the position of the first dorsal fin far 

 forward on the head, of the larva' of the Trachiipteroids, 

 but as most closely resemljlinsr, in the form of the 



" One species (Macruronus novcc-zelandia;) is said to live in slmllower water. 



'' See Risso, Icltthyologie de Nice, p. 201, where the name is supposed to have originated from the resemblance between a soldier's 

 helmet and the snout of Macrurus coelorlnjnclms. The same name occurs in Cuvier (Regne Animal, tome II, ed. 1, p. 217; ed. 2, p. 336) 

 and in Bkown-Goodk (Fisher., Fish. Indnstr. U. S.. Sect. I, p. 244). 



' Nat. Hist. Fish., Amph., Rept., vol. II, pp. 170 and 2G1. 



'' See for example Macncrns {Nematonuriis) longijilis, GU.nther, Deep Sea Fishes, Chall. Exped., p. 151, jil. XXXV. 



' Brown-Goode, The Fisheries and Fisliery Industries of the United States, Sect. I. pi. (54: Gintheb, 1. <■., p. 94, pi. XV. 



•''' A separate caudal fin may, however, appear to be present. This is due to cicatrization following upon the breaking off of the tail 

 in an adult Grenadier-fish. Cf. NiLssoN, SIcand. Fauna, Fislcarne, p. 600. 



^ Trans. Linn. Soc. London, vol. XVIII (1838 — 1841), p. 295. 



'' Giorn. Gabin. Letter. Messina, anno III, lomo V, fasc. XXV (1844). p. 21: reprinted in II Xaturalista Siciliano, aimo VII, Xo. 4, 

 l:o Gennajo 1888, p. 101. 



' .Mem. .1. R. Acad. d. Lincei, scr. 3. vol. III. p. 395, figs. 7 and 8. 



