CKF.NADlKU-FISin-.S. 



:)8;) 



.■il)iiiit as Ioii;l'' ii 

 and at the miildl 

 ahniit - ., (if tht 

 Crdiii lliis pdiiit 

 All the 



i'M\S, ii 



the last ray n[' the first di.rsal tin, 

 iif tlie till (he lelliitli (if the ravs is 

 onii'itudinal diaineter (if the orliits; 

 le height nf liiis fin tdd decreases, 

 raws are articulated, and all, e.\ce|i1 the first 

 the anal fin as well as in the secend dorsal 



isilx 



irt( 



int( 



till are liifid at the tip: all may !i 

 their t\V(i lateral halves. 



'rh(^ pectdral tins are situated sdiiicwliat in fmnt 

 of (according to .Sitndevali., vertically lielow ) the bc- 

 giiiiiiiig of the first dorsal hn. 'l'hc\ are dlili(|nely 

 pointed, and their length is Sdinewiiat greater than the 

 height df the fii'st dor.sal fin. 'I'he first ra\- is thick, i tail or hind part. 'riie\- are both large an 



row of scales in which, in most eases, the middle ca- 

 rina of the scale is divided (doid)le). In other eases 

 tile |i(ire lies lieloxv the simple middle carina. 



'I'he l)o(l\' is of a graxish silver\- or tin cdldiir; 

 the fins arc brownish black. The caxity of the iiidiith, 

 the branchial cavitx', and the peritoneum are black. 



Mairiin(>i FaJiricii is b\- lui means a rare fish off 

 the sdiith df (ircenland and (K'curs along tli<^ east coast 

 of Ndrth America at least as far Sdutli as the lungh- 

 Ijourhood of (.'a]ie Cod. So e;ii-l\- a writer as ICgkde 

 describes it as "like a Tursk, but with sharp |iricklcs 

 iind spines ovei' the whdle skin, and with a narrow 



TIk 



but articulated and simjile or imperfecth' branched at 

 the tip". The third and fdiirth ra\s are e(pial in length 

 and the longest in the tin'. 



The ventral tins are aliout ' ,, as hmg as the jiec- 

 toral, the first ra^-, simjile but articulated, being elong- 

 ated to a hairlike tip. Among the branched rays the 

 4th, ')ih. and 6th are eijual in length and the longest, 

 thus gi\iiig this part of the fins n rounded f(jrm. 



The scales cover the whole liodj', except the under 

 surface of the head, the branchiostegal membranes, and 

 the tins. On the head the lateral carina^ of the snout 

 and cheeks also mark the boundary of the scales: though 

 scattered scales may be found below the hind part of 

 the suborbital carina. The scales on different parts of 

 the body vary both in size and in form; and they are 

 armed in various ways not only on diffei'ent parts of 

 the body, but als(j in different individuals. The smallest 

 scales are set on the head, where they are more firmly 

 attached to the subjacent bones, especially on the longi- 

 tudinal carina?. In form the scales are ([uadrangular, 

 wunded (almost circular), or hexagonal. The anterior 

 (inserted) part of each scale is smooth, the outer part 

 is furnished with a high and dentated, longitudinal 

 carina at the middle and, in most cases, with several 

 (•") — .1 above and below) small carina', radiating in a 

 backward direction and sometimes dentated like the 

 middle carina. The te.xture of the scale shows nume- 

 rous, dense and undulating, concentric striix', but no 

 radiating ones. The lateral line does not pierce any 

 scales; but its opening pores lie on the outside of a 



that 



scpuniaiix sa\' that XUe\ ai'c of good flavour." Ci;.\NZ 

 mentions a "species of hsh that has a large head and 

 eyes' like an dwi, and which the Esquimaux call Irifj- 

 miiniisef, Ijecause it liellows'' when dying. ( )n the coast 

 of Norwegian Finmark, north of Tromsi'i, the sjjecies 

 has been taken dccasioiially in recent times on long- 

 lines, at depths \arying between 100 and MOO fathoms. 

 It was unkiidwn there, however, imtil fifty years ago 

 (is;^)!)), when Professor S. Loven brought home to the 

 Royal Museum a specimen, which has been described 

 by SuxDEVAi.L, from Hammcrfest. 



The food is probably composed chiefly of small 

 fishes, e. g. the Capelin, and crustaceans, even those 

 with hard shells, to judge by th(^ strength and form 

 of the pharyngeal teeth. But in this case, as in the 

 case of other deep-sea iishes, the stomach is generally 

 turned inside out when the fish is drawn u]) to the 

 surface, so that it has been impossil)le to ascertain its 

 contents. The fish takes a liait freely, and is a nuis- 

 ance, says Bkowx-Goode, to the American fisherman, 

 who hauls in his line in the hope of a better catch 

 than an Onion-tish. 



The spawning-season of ^[acn<ni.'i Fahricii occurs 

 on the coast of Finmark ;it the end of winter or 

 soon afterwards, for in May Collett has met with 

 at least two females full of roe. In Greenland Fabri- 

 CiL's found that the ovaries of the females were ex- 

 tremely small in the month of May, and he therefore 

 assumed that at this season they had generally finished 

 siiawning. 



" On tlie other hand, it p.irts e.isily into its two lateral halves. 



* GL'nther remarks a difference between the Norwegian and American forms of this species, consisting, according to his specimens, 

 in the nmch shorter pectoral fins of the former. In one of our specimens (stuffed) from Finmark, however, the length of the pectoral fins 

 in 54 "o of that of the head. 



' On account of tlie eyes the American fishermen of the present day call this species Onion-tish. 



'' When the air-bladder bursts(?) 



