WDliM I'lrKI'lSII. 



0S7 



iiliout 2— 2' .> % of the Icii.uth of the hody, in the \\\\Wv 

 ;it least MS nuieli as .'V', , % tliereof. Tlie tei-ett' (ail 

 tapers reniilarK' tn its euci. Here, us in tile .]'!(|ii(ireal 

 Piiielisli, tlie (liffereiiee l)et\\een tlie sexes is most dis- 

 tiiictlv e\|)resse(l e\teriiall\- \i\ tlie form of the trunk. 

 Ill the males this part is soniewhat llattelie(l, es|ieeiull\' 

 ;it the mi(l<lle of its lengtli, and the hreadtli of the fiat 

 ventral side, to which the esfg's are attached, is ureater 

 tliiin the (h'ptli nf tlie \mm\\ at the s;ime puiiit. In llie 

 females the trunk is laleralh' eum|iressed, and also fur- 

 nished, when the lisli is in full dress, with a Imiui- 

 tildiiial carina at llie middle l»illi of the hack and the 

 bell\', tlu' latter carina lieiiig here too the mure pro- 

 minent. Thus the structure of the males in. this respe<'t 

 coiues \er\' near the fcirni of the body in the Australian 

 genus SthiniKtitjilmni. which is furnished, ho\ve\er, with 

 pectoral tins, and in which the males carr\' the eggs 

 under their tails. 



In s])eciineiis from 10 to \'l em. long the length 

 of the head varies between 8 (7'8) and 7'., %, m older 

 Sjjeeimeiis lietween 7' .-, and 7 % of the length of the 

 bod\', or between about L*.j' ., and 2.')' ., % of the distance 

 from the (hirsal fin to the tip of the snout. The most 

 characteristic point in the head of this species is the 

 form of the snout, a reminiscence of the lar\al stage 

 of all the othi'r Si/i/f/inifhinrc. The snout is coiiqiara- 

 tivelv short, measuring in voung specimens — between 

 lU and 12 cm. long — only about ' ,,, in older speci- 

 mens about ' ., (30—3-2^/2 "«) of the length of the head, 

 and also liirned up like a pug's nose, \vith a more or 

 less selliform d<'[iressioii in the superior profile. The tip 

 of the lower jnw pirojects ujiwards to a level with the 

 tip of the snout, which is hollowed to receive it. The 

 longitudinal diameter of the eyes is about half the length 

 of the snout. The jiostorbital length of the head 

 measures abcjiit half its entire lengtli. 



The dorsal tin is of uniform height. The length 

 of its base is about 9 or 10 % (8-8— IQ-o ?6) of the 

 length of the bocU". The distance between it ami the 

 tip of the snout is about 30 % {i'.)'6 — 30'5 %) of the 

 length of the liody. The vent lies below its anterior 

 part, at a distance from the tip) of the snout that mea- 

 sures about ' , (3i'-.")— 33'3 %) of the length of the 

 body. The length of tlie tail is thus ahvaws more than 

 twice that of the trunk behind the opercula. 



The coloration is far from uglv. "Its usual ground- 

 colour," writes Khies, 'is chestnut-bi"ow-n, in some cases 



° Xat. Hist. Irel., vol. IV, p. 242. 

 ScamUnavlnn Fishes. 



liglitt'r, ill others darker. Along the back lie large, 

 irregular spots of whitish gray, wdiicii are broken up 

 <in the tail inio iinnierous, smaller spots and give this 

 part of the body a mottle(l appearance.' The head is 

 also mottled abo\c and below with whitish gray spots, 

 framed with darker colour, and twu or three of tiie.se 

 spots are especially c(jnstant and prominent, oblicpudy 

 in front of, bidow, and obliipud\- liehind the eves, rising 

 from the isthmus. ( )ii the tail the s|)ots are arranged 

 more or less distinetix in transverse? rows; and in a fe- 

 male from the Weather Islands (Bohusliin), which has 

 lain in spirits for some xcars, but preserved its colora- 

 tion remarkabh" well, this arrangi'inent is distinct on 

 the f(.)repart of the bod\' also. The dermal carina on 

 the belly of this specimen seems to have been edged 

 with darker colour. 'I'he iris is \'ellow', with a I'ing of 

 round spots. 



This coloration is probabh- connected with the ha- 

 bits of the fish. The WUrni l'i|ietish seems to ])refei' 

 deep water, where the brown tint prevails among the 

 alga'. It has e\en lieen found crawling on a clayey 

 bottom, where it has been taken in the dredge in eom- 

 pan\' Avith those marine Anindids, crustaceans, and mol- 

 lusks -whose voung and lar\;e probably form the chief 

 [lart of its food. < bi the Irish coast too, according to 

 Thojipson", this sjiecies has been taken in the dredge 

 in deep water, though it also lives between the tide- 

 marks, where it hides under .stones. 



The spawning-season seems to be somewhat later 

 than in the jireceding sjiecies. The eggs are set in 

 four, more regular rows and less firmly attached 

 (less deeply imbedded in mucus). Collett estimated 

 their number in ditt'erent males at 63 and 78; in a 

 male 135 mm. long we have counted 88 eggs, about 

 I ' - mm. in diameter. 



It was in this species that Fkies made the first 

 oliservations of the retrogressive metanioriihosis of the 

 genus Nerophis, observations which ha\e since been ex- 

 tended, as we have seen, to all the Scandinavian species 

 of the genus. One of the last days in .September, 1837, 

 Fries had obtained a male specimen to which the eggs 

 still adhered. lie placed the specimen in a vessel of 

 water, and endeavoured to kec]) it ali\e for some time, 

 in order to observe the hatching of the eggs and the 

 relations between the young and their father. As the 

 latter had no raarsupium in which the young might 

 hide at the approach of danger. Fries expected to see 



