934 



SCANDINAVIAN 1-ISIIliS 



of the length 



tlie i)ost;il)duiiiiii:il al)out lO (11 — 9) 

 of tlic body. 



The whole l)ody, forward to tiic interorhitnl space, 

 is covered with extremely thin, transparent, rather 

 liir^c, and rounded scales, somewhat higher than long, 

 and with scattered, concentric strinB on the posterior 

 part. There is no special lateral line, the scales of 

 the median line being without pores. 



The luminous spots are distributed in the same 

 manner as in Armiiopelecus Olfersil, but more regu- 

 larh'. A comparison witli Cocria orata shows most 

 cli'arh' of all that tlicy lie in three rows, though the 

 middle row should probably be regarded as a raniifi- 

 cation of the lowest, or rice versa. The uppermost 

 row begins at tiie extreme front of the cliin, and in 

 Coccia runs back without a break along the l)ranches 

 of the lower jaw and on the branchiostegal membrane, 

 one spot being situated between each pair of branchio- 

 stegal rays, till the membrane coalesces behind -with 

 the interoperculum and suboperculum so completely 

 that the luminous spots apparently lie on the inner 

 surface of these bones. Above the row, on the inside 

 of the lower preopercular angle, we find one spot, 

 suggesting an upward ramification of this row. In the 

 Pearl-side the row is interrupted along the bi-anches 

 of the lower jaw, only two spots, probably answering 

 to the second pair in Coccia, appearing on the soft 

 cliin-space, and further ])ack each of the branchiostegal 

 membranes is furnished with 6 spots, which shine through 

 the maxillaries and the horizontal (anterior) arm of the 

 preoperculum. ( >n the inner surface of the opercular 

 apparatus the remaining spots are the same as in 

 Coccia". The lowest row of luminous spots starts from 

 the anterior extremity of the isthmus, in Coccia quite 

 at the mental angle, where the two lateral halves of 

 the first mentioned row meet, and follows the ventral 

 margin, in this genus without interruption, merely 

 forming a curve at the beginning of the anal fin, back 

 to the lower corner of the base of the caudal fin. But 

 in front of the base of each pectoral fin and above this 

 I'ow, lies one spot, suggesting an upward I'amification 

 of the row, and on a level with the last-mentioned 

 spot runs the upper venti'al row, pair by pair with the 

 spots of the lower row, and unbroken in Coccia to a 

 line with the beginnino- of the anal fin. In the Pearl- 



side the lowest row l)egins similarly at the anterior 

 extremity of the isthmus; but this extremity is situated 

 further back, iiardly in front of the perpendicular from 

 the ant(M'iiir margin of tiie eye, and the row runs on 

 each side of the body, in an upward cur\e containing 

 6 luminous spots, towards the base of the pectoral fin. 

 At the ventral margin between tlie last pair of these 

 spots, begins the true (lower) ventral row, which should 

 thus be regarded here as a downward and backward 

 ramification of the isthmian row, and runs on each 

 side of tile body to the lower corner of tiie base of 

 the caudal fin. This row contains 4.3 spots, the pair 

 at the base of each ventral fin (the IStii and 14th in 

 the row) somewhat oblicjueh- arranged, and the remain- 

 ing 4 on the postabdominal region fVirming a slight 

 upward curve. A slight break in the row occurs at 

 the beginning of the anal fin (between the 18th and 

 19th spots), and a similar break at the end of the same 

 fin (between the .34th and 35th spots). The upper 

 ventral roAv of luminous spots, which in the Pearl-side 

 — to judge, at least, by its direction and the form of 

 the spots — is a more immediate continuation of the 

 istliniian row, begins in the upjier |)art of the axilla, 

 and runs, containing 9 spots, to a line with the base 

 of the ventral fin, from which point it is interrupted 

 throughout the postabdominal region, but re-appears 

 in a single spot above the beginning of the anal fin. 

 The spots in tiie u])per ventral row, those between the 

 branchiostegal rays, and most, if not all, of the pos- 

 terior spots in the isthmian row, are oblicjuely cut and 

 pi'olongated in a downward direction (see above, p. 

 921, with note a). 



The coloration of the Pearl-side is almost tlie same 

 as that of the smaller Herrings, a lustrous silver}' white, 

 but dark, shading into blue on a greeiiisli ground, on 

 the liack and the top of the head. So long as the 

 scales adhere, they give the sides of the body a tinge 

 of yellow. The black rims of the luminous spots stand 

 out sharply from the pale bluish (in spirit-preserved 

 specimens yellowish) lustre of their interior; and where 

 these rims touch, along the base of the anal fin and 

 the inferior margin of the tail, there appears a coal- 

 black band. The end of the tail itself is of the same 

 colour as the back, and outside (behind) the tail a 

 narrow, black liand crosses the base of the caudal fin. 



" Tlie luminous spot wliifli Mokeau (Wat. A'at. Poiss. Fr., tome 3, p. 511) observed in MmiroUcus amethi/stino-punctatus on eacli 

 side of tlie snout, near the nostrils, we have not been able to detect in our preserved specimens of the Pearl-side; but it is distinctly shown 

 in V. Wiught's figure, small, but prolongated along the lower margin of tlie anterior part of the preorbital bone. 



