726 



The peculiar colouring seems, as already remarked, to be a gradu- 

 ally acquired pairing dress, as the yellowish white area upon the ventral 

 surface of the body and on the fins, is irregular and laterally quite 

 unsymmetrical. The original brownish black ground, thickly covered 

 with yellowish white spots is, in fact, retained only upon the dorsal 

 surface of the body (above the median line), upon the forehead, and at 

 the base of the second dorsal and the caudal. The uniformly yellowish 

 white colour, on the other hand, has spread all over the rest of the head, 

 over the ventral surface of the body, both the ventrals, and most of the 

 pectorals. On the sides of the body, the white colour runs up into the 

 dark parts with an unsymmetrical line of demarcation ; and all round 

 the base of the first dorsal there is an irregular oblong patch of the 

 same colour. The outer half of the second dorsal and of the caudal is 

 yellowish w^hite, the line of demarcation between it and the dark ground 

 being here also laterally unsymmetrical. The pectorals are yellowish 

 white, with a black patch at the base on the inner side. 



As already mentioned, the two young type-specimens had no trace 

 of these yellowish white areas. With regard to the somewhat larger 

 specimen (total length 260 mm) from the Canaries, Stein dachner 

 states that the dark brown ground was rather lighter nearest the edge 

 of the belly, but covered all over with the yellow blotches. 



It is not improbable that the spreading of the yellowish white 

 pairing-colour over the body in this specimen was not quite completed, 

 a surmise which is supported by the fact of the irregular, almost hapha- 

 zard line of demarcation between it and the original ground, which is on 

 the two sides of the body. There is possibly some connection between 

 this circumstance and the fact that the original dark brown ground is 

 now capable of being removed with very slight friction. 



The ovaries were distended with ripe spawn, and the belly, in 

 consequence, was pendent. (The exact season when the specimen was 

 obtained cannot be stated.) The ventricle contained a half-digested 

 specimen of a Pal^emonide, and in the intestines were found vertebrae 

 of small fish. 



Fam. Steriioptychidae. 



Argt/ropelecîis acideatiis Cuv. Val. 1849. 



1849. AryyropelecHS aculrahts Cuv. Val. Hist. Nat. Poiss. Vol. 22. p. 406. (Paris 1849.) 

 1849. Stetmoptyx acantJmrns Cuv. Val. Hist. Nat. Poiss. Vol. 22. p. 408. (Paris 1849.) 



Three specimens, all half-grown^. 



* These specimens have been treated of in the Archiv f. Math. Naturv. Vol.19. 

 No. 7. p. 14 (Christiania, 1897,, where they are spoken of as ^i. olfersii (Cuv.;. 



