ARCTIC SCOPELUS. 



941 



fwccii cacli piiii" of spots in the row at the base of the 

 ;inal tin, there follows, on each side of tin- lower eaiidal 

 iiiarniii, a niw "f •') spots, l)oth rows a])proaehiiig eaeli 

 other heliiiKl; and after new interruptions there lie, on 

 each side of tlie lower eaiidal niar_i;in, one sjiot just in 

 front of the foremost supporting ray of the caudal tin, 

 two at the side of the 4th — 7th supporting rays, and 

 one at tlie middle of the base of tlie lower caudal l()l)e". 

 The (ireater Seopelus is a rare species, of whicii, 

 wlicrever it lias apj)eared, only solitary individuals have 

 hccii found. It has most frec(uent]y been met witii in 

 Trondiijcm Fjord, most often in two inlets, Orkedal 

 Fjord and Gnlos, that run south, with a common en- 

 trance west of 'Frondiijem, from tiie main fjord, where 

 oniv one si)ccimcn lias lu'cn taken, at Uissen, a little 

 more to the west. All the five specimens secured by 

 Stokii in the winter of 1879 — 80 and the summer of 

 ISiSl measured 14' , cm. in length, and were taken in 

 Herring-nets. Furtiier sontli, in tlie Skager Hack, two 



specimens have been found. Ekstrom received the one 

 (Malm's Scopeluf< h'nii/ciii) in April, 1856, from a fisher- 

 man \\1k) iiad f )un<l it in the stomach of a Cod taken 

 on 11 long-line neai- the Skaw. The other specimen 

 was procured at Strrnnstad by iiaron Ckdkrstrom in 

 Api-il, l.S7(), and forwarded by him to the Royal Mu- 

 seum; it had been taken in the same manner in Koster 

 Fjui-d. ( »n the Atlantic coast of Europe the Greater 

 Seopelus has ne\er been met with further south, though 

 it seems to be one of the Herring's companions, and 

 might consequently be expected to occur there as well. 

 South of tile Herring's geographical range, however, it has 

 been found in the Mediterranean (off Sicily, from whicli 

 localit)' it was first described, by Costa; and off Nice, as 

 descrilied by STKiNDAcnxEii), oft' Madeira (according to 

 .Iohnson), and in the Gulf of Guinea (aeeoi'ding to Gun- 

 ther); but as yet it must be reckoned everywhere among 

 the rarest fishes. In its manner of life, which is othei'- 

 wise unknown, it proliabh' resend)les JlaiiroIicKS MiiUcri. 



THE ARCTIC SCOPELUS. 



M YCTOPHUM GLACI ALE. 



Fig. 235. 



Base of tlie dnrsal fin shorter than that of the anal, and less than V- of the leni/th of the body. Length of the 

 pectoral fins greater than that of tlie ventral, than either the preahdomlnal length or the postahdominal, and more 

 than ■'/j of tlie length of the maxillarles, irltleh is pereeptihlg less than half of the distance between the dorsal fin 

 and the tip of the snout. Longitudinal diameter of the eyes more than half (> ^/j.^) of the postorbital length of 

 the head, which is less than ^/-^ of its entire length. Least depth of the tail less than 8 % of the length of the 

 body, or than "/^ of the greatest depth of the latter. Scales of the lateral line perceptibly larger than the others. 



¥" 



Fig. 235. Mtjctoplnim glaciate, fogctlier with tin- under surface of its lower jaw. Xatural size. From Hardaiigcr Fjord. 



Specimen in I lie possession of Bergen JIuseum. 



R. br. 8 : D. 



2 3 1 2 



-.A.'' ; P. — ; r. -; C. ,r + 2 + 1 7 + 2 + x; 



Lin. lal. 36; Lin. tr. I; Vert. 36^ 

 4 



.S'y/i. (?) Labrus e.votetus, Fabk., Fun Groenl., p. 16C (vide Jon- 

 GENSEN, apud Krov.). 

 Sropebis glacialis, Reinh., Vid. Selsk. Naturv., Math. Afh., vol. 

 VI, p. CX; vol. VII, p. 126; Kr. in Gaim., Votj. Scand., 



" Just in front of each eye, within the orbit, lies a light-coloured mass, with black limits, and similar to a luminous spot, though it 

 18 perhaps simply analogous to the growth of adipose niemhrano common in the Salmons and Herrings. To avoid damaging the specimen, 

 we have refrained from examining this mass. It calls to minil, however, the large, composite luminous organ that appears on the snout of 

 Scopelu.<< metopoelampus etc. 



'' A. 16, according to Day. 



' According to Kroyer. 



