<JU7 



or :it Iciist tiKisI of tlic voini;:' have liccii excluded. The 

 i'vv creeii foi'tli, head tii'st. one aflep aiiolhei-. ami sink 

 down to the ri.uht anil left lA' the tail of the mother- 

 fish, which she keeps in a somewhat ele\ated iiosition. 

 Now tliat they ha\e reached tiie liottom. they lie tliere 

 several lK>urs, perhaps a whole da\, without |]erceplilil\- 

 moNinu' or risiuL:'. If there are several ilelpouts in the 

 same aipiariuni. one nia\' oliser\'e, to oiicTs surprise, 

 two or moi'(^ of them swim close up to the motliei--fisli 

 and jiress her on liolh sides, ap|)arentl\- to assist the 

 operation. Iiut in realit\- onh' to devour the vouuli' as 

 soon as tlie\' a[)pear. The mother dm-s not hesitate t(.) 

 follow their example if she is not sufHcieiitly supplied 

 with other food. In most eases the Eelpoiit brings forth 

 all her \ciuiig at a hirth; hut it sonu'times happens 

 that onh a ])art of them are horn at first and the rest, 

 or even oid\- some of the rest, one or more days later". 

 The food of the Eelpout consists chieHy of mol- 

 lusks, cru.staceans, and worms, but also of small fishes. 

 It lives in watei- of moderate depth on sliores where it 

 finds a stonv bottom overgrown with sea\veed. Henee 

 if is known as Tdiif/hike or Stetilake (fdiu/, tang, /«/re, 

 Bui'bot), which are its ordinary names on the coast of 

 the Baltic, where its outward resemblance to the Burbot 

 has thus attracted most attention. In other localities 

 its slight likeness to the Eel and the long-known fact 

 that, utdike most of the Teleosts, it brings forth its 

 voung alive, have given rise to the ancient and popular 

 belief that the Eelpout is the mother of the Eel, and 



hasc bestowed upon it \arious names. Thus, in (ierman 

 it is still called Aid iKiiUi-r. in Danish AaU'knne, Aolc- 

 modrr. or Aalvkits, and in liohusliin genei-all\- Alkiissa 

 oi- simpl\- KifssK. Its manner of life has also conti'i- 

 buted in a high degi'ee to its comparison with the Eel. 

 It lives in scattered and solitary specimens, is found 

 c\er\where, but seldom in numbei's, and c(jnceals itself 

 undei' stones, among seaweed, and in crevices in the 

 liotiom. .\11 round the coasts of Scandinavia it is com- 

 mon, from \ aranger fjord" along Norway and Sweden 

 into tiie ISaltic and up to the island-belt of Tornea. 

 ( )n the Daidsh coast and on all the coasts and banks 

 of the North Sea the l^elpout is a common tish; but 

 west and south of the English Channel it is rare, 

 though STEixn.\C'HM';i! .states (1. c.) that it has been met 

 with in the neighljourliood of Cadiz. The Eelpout also 

 makes its way occasionally iiit(» fresh water. It has 

 been taken foi' in.stance, according to ISkeiim, in tiie 

 Havel off Si)andau. 



The flesh of the Eeljjout is firm, white, and in 

 flavour not unlike that of \hv Eel. Still it is not eaten 

 in many jdaces, a circumstance which seems to be due 

 entirely or at least most usually to the green colour 

 of the bones, which becomes deeper and deeper during 

 the process of lioiling and excites the groundless suspi- 

 cion that the flesh is poisonous. There is no special 

 fisher\' for the Eelpout: it is taken onh' h\ accident 

 and generally while the fisherman is drawing the seine 

 for other fish. (Ekstrom, Fries, Smitt.) 



GicMs LYCODES. 



VerticaJ fins siniihir hi stnictiire fJiriiiii/Jioiif tlieir li'iif/fli. VciiiraJ fins Juf/itlar and nidimcnfari/. u-'ith .V — (>'' rai/s. 



Jairs, paJatbie hones, and the head of the vomer furnished irith teeth. 



This genus, which was founded in 1S;')1 b-v Y. ' sal tin is a readilv perceivable difference from the Eel- 



Ki:iNH.\i!DT-, is extremely closely allied to the |ireceding pouts, but botli genera are identical in all other respects, 



one in form and the changes of form as well as in the if \\v except the more })ackward Ix'ginning of the dorsal 



distribution of colour on the body. Externally the fin in Li/codes, where the distance between the begin- 



absence of the depression in the margin of the dor- ning of this tin ,and the tip of the snout is always 



" Tlie Royal Museum li.as rc-cciveil from tlie Wliito Son tlinmgli r,i(-'u(cMant H. S.VNiiEBKRc. nn Eeljioiit I '.I cm. long which is rein.nrkable 

 for the extraordinary height of the anterior part of the dorsal fin. 



* The latter number in Li/vodcs maci-ops, according to V.mi.i.ant. who. however, dcscrilies the.sp ray." as simple (K.rjiccJ. Hfient. dii Trn- 

 vailli'iiv el da Talisman, Poiss.. p. .S07). while in other species they arc known to be branched. 



' Overs. Vid. Selsk. Forh. Kbiiuii 1830—31, p. LXXIV. It was not until 183H — Xaturv.. Math. Afh.. Decl VII. p. 147. published 

 l>y tlie same society — that the genus was completely determined and cliaincterizecl. 'I'he name of f,i/<-odc.< (wolflike. 'ir. Ai'/.oc) is derived 

 from the resemblance of the fish to Amirrhichas lupus. 



