694 



SCANDINAVIAN FISHES. 



Fhchei:, Fi.-rh:. II'., I). I'reiif.<i., p. lO:!. tig. 83; Grimm, 

 Fish., Hunt. Jiiiss. Witt., pp. 12 et 19: ApdSTOL.. Pt'cAe oi 

 Grece, p. 31; NoRB.icK, Handl. Fiskei:., Fishafc, p. 373; 

 Uncke, Ilandb. Fiscli:., Fischer. (M. v. i). Borne), p. 142, 

 fig. l.'iO: Lii.u., .Vf., .Xoi-c/. Fi.4:, vol. III. p. 358. 



'I'lic Shcntfisli i.s tlic liirn'est osseous tisli in tlic t'rcsli 

 water of iMirope. .Vcrordiug to triist\voi'tli\- \(_'rl)al st;i- 

 tiMiicnts" it jittiiins in tiie s(jutli of IJussin, in the Oiiir- 

 |ier, ;i li'iigtii of ;i1 lc;ist 4S dm. .'ind a wt'iuiit of alxait 

 2t)5 kuni. Kka.mki! (IT.")!!), (|uotc(l li\- Hkckei, and Knki;, 

 mentions a still larger JSlieattisli from the Danulie, '"so 

 large that two men could scarcelv join hands round its 

 liod\'," A\liicli thus might ha\c mi'asurc(l hetween (i and 

 7 mi'tres in length. The Sheatfish descrihed ji^- ()sI!E('K 

 (i. c.) was from Lake IJafven in Sodei'inanland and 

 weighed IOV5 '^g'^^- <'t a lengtii of 11'.. dm. In Swe- 

 den the species seldom attains a length of more tlian 

 :.'' ., metres, though we sometimes hear of sjiecimens 

 half as long again''. 



The form of tlie liody reminds us strongly of the 

 Uurhot. with flattened head, terete trunk, and laterally 

 compressed tail, though these_ three parts pass e\enly 

 into each other. Lithe as the Burliot — or even more 

 so — and still more like the Eel in its movements, ^vith 

 h^ose and slip|ierv skin, the bodv of the Sheatfish ma\' 

 assume different forms in different ])osition; lint \vhen 

 extended and at rest it jiresents the appearance gi\en 

 in (tur hgure. The dorsal |)rotile is almost straight, 

 onh slightly elevated at the end of the first cpiartei', 

 where the dorsal fin is situated, from this jioint sligiitly 

 curved to\vards the tip of the snout, and \vitli a down- 

 ward curve just hehind this fin. The \entral profile is 

 more regularh' curved, more shar]ih- ascending in front 

 when the mouth is closed. The fl;it snout, tlie convex 

 forehead, and tlu.' forepart of the hack, Avhieh is also 

 convex, hut furnished at the middle with a more or less 

 deep, longitudinal groove all the wav from the occiput, 

 arc continued behind by the narro\v, but terete dorsal 

 edge of the tail. The \entral side, on the other h;ind, 

 is indeed terete in front and idong the lielly itself more 

 or less tumid; but behind the \ent it is .so sharp that 

 the interha'inal spines (sui)i)orting bones) of the anal tin 

 are even externalh' ]>ert-ei)tible beneath the skin. The 

 greatest depth of the IkmIv, which occurs at the dorsal 

 fin, measures in voung specimens, "2 oi' ?> dm. long, 

 about 11) % of its length; while in older specimens •} 



metres long this ])ercentage usuall\- sinks to ]?>'. 'J'he 

 thickness at the same spot is in young specimens usualh- 

 distincth- less than, in old S])ecimens generallv about 

 erpial to the depth. The least deptli of tin- bodv, just 

 in fi-ont of the caudal fin, measures in the said voung 

 specimens about .") % of its length, in thi' older ones 

 ;ibout 4 — 3' ^ "r, thereof. 



The length of the he;id (from the lip of the snout 

 to the extreme end ot the branchiosteg;il membrane) 

 measures ' ,, — ' ,,, of tliat of the body (from the ti]) of 

 the snout); lint in old specimens the lower jaw projects 

 in front of the tip of the snf)Ut foi- a distance that 

 sometimes measures at least ' ., of the length of tlie head. 

 The broad, fiat snout, with its sides sharplv I'ounded 

 (forming a broad ellipse) in front, [)asses very graduallv 

 into the terete form of the occiput and the forepart 

 of the trunk, without -.niv sharp lateral lireak, the 

 head tlius resembling a broad wedge with rounded sides. 

 The l)i-eadtli of the head across the oi)ercula is tlie great- 

 est b]-eadth of the bodv (in (dd specimens <diout 14 % 

 of the length of the body); but we are most struck bv 

 the great breadth of the gape, the width of wliicii. 

 measured straight across the corners of the mouth when 

 closed, is about ■* - of the greatest breadth of the head, 

 and occu]jies almost the entire breadth of the snout. 

 The li]is are fiesliv, the dermal folds at the corners of 

 the mouth being especialh' thick. In A-oung specimens 

 the mouth shuts so tightly that the upper and lower 

 lips are contiguous; but in older ones the lower jaw 

 projects so far that a consideralde poilion of its card of 

 teetli is left bare. The e\es are round and small, and 

 sometimes even difficult to distinguish, as their colour 

 differs only slightly from that of the head. Their rela- 

 tive size varies considerabh' according to age. In spe- 

 cimens between 1 and 2 dm. long the longitudinal dia- 

 raeter of the eyes measures about 10 % of the length 

 of the head, 20 — 19 % of the breadth of the interorbital 

 space, or 30 — 27 % of the distance between them ;uid 

 the middle of the tip of the snout (the length of the 

 snout). In s|)t'cimens lietween '/^ and 1 m. long these 

 percentages have sunk, the first to about (i, the second 

 to about 13 or 12, and the third to about 18 or 17. 

 In a Sheatfish 19 dm. long (the original of our figure) 

 the longitudinal diameter of the eves was r> % of the 

 length of the head, only sliuhth" more than 9 % of the 



" Kesslijr, Bull. Soc. N.ifiir. Mosc, toi.i. .\XIX (1S.5(;), I, p. 

 '' On the lOlli of August, 1870, n Slie.'itl'ish 12 Sw. ft. (:!'., 

 •■ In grMviil foiiiales, or wlioii (Ik- stomach is ilistc-ii.kMl with f( 



111.) lung is sniil to h.ive been brought to iniirUct at Eslcilstuui 

 ml, tlie lielly of course becomes liolli deeper .Ttiil broader. 



