30 



species of Zeiigopteyus>. Thev were eauglit iii yonng-fisli trawl (umodytes- 

 seiiie trawl) at the Hlietltuul Islaucls, Septbr. 11., l'JUo, iu water 64 l'utlioins 

 deep. Iii spite of the early stage of tlieir developmeut they are 13 & 14 imn 

 long. There is a picture of the largest ou table I (fig. 9). They are couse- 

 queutly mucii louger than the nearly quite transformed Z. panctatus, wliich 

 is the basis of tigure 4. This aloue preveiits us from referriug them to 

 Z. pimctains, but they are also otherwise very ditt'erent from the soinewhat 

 correspoudiiig stage, fig. 2, for iustance with regard to the pigmeutation. 

 Their piginentatioii is more like that of Z. norvegicus, but their spities show 

 that they have nothiug to do with this. I suppose that they beloug to the 

 species Z. megastoma, which is cominou iu these parts. I do uot possess, 

 however, all the trausitioual stages of this species, but I have several, some- 

 what older specimeus, from a leugth of 27 — 32 mm, takeu by the Thor, at 

 the bottom, near the Vestmauua Islands at Icelaud, with youug-fish trawl, 

 ou a depth of 120 — 400 meters, iu the summer of 1903. Oue of these, 

 c. 29 mui loug, table I, fig. 10, has evideutly lately givcu up its pelagic 

 life, for it has still large larval pectoral fins. It has still, however, distiuct 

 pairs of spiues iu the ear-regiou, of the the type which we fiud ou Z. punc- 

 tafiis; OU the older specimeus, ou tlie other haud, these spiues are dis- 

 appeariug. That these larvæ, belougiug to the bottom- stages, are larvæ of 

 Z. megastoma, is proved by the uumber of their finrays, c. 90 — 96 dorsal 

 aud c. 72 — 74 aual rays, besides by their ((uite exterual great resemblauce, 

 iu other respects, to this species, which was fouud iu large uumbers, as a 

 growuup fish, by the Thor, amoug other piaces also in the same regions. 

 Moreover, uo other Zeiigojiferus is kuowu here on somewliat deeper water. 

 Z. norvegicus, on the other hånd, must be fouud near Icelaud, iu piaces 

 wliere the water is rather low, because its little smooth young oues, accord- 

 ing to the above, have beeu showu to live there. The growuup fish, 

 however, have uot yet beeu fouud, because the place, iu spite of all, has 

 uot beeu thoroughly investigated. 



(Iu the FaroeTslands I have fouud a somewhat smaller uuml)er of rays 

 in Z. megastoma, than I fouud near Icelaud, viz., 86 — 91 dorsal aud 66 — 72 

 aual rays; but ouly 5 specimeus from this place have beeu examiued. The 

 uumbers will probably prove to vary still more, but it is quite possible that 

 they, as a rule, are larger near Icelaud; this is tlie case, at auy rate, with 

 Drepanopsetta. Iu "Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.", Dcbr. 1899, Giintlier informs us 

 that Zeugopterus boscii has 80 — 81 rays iu the dorsal and 63 — 65 iu the 

 anal, but I thiuk very few specimeus have beeu examiued.) 



At first I rather doubted that the large, spiuy youug oues (tal)le I, 

 fig. 10) belouged to Z. megastoma; for Holt has (1. c. plate XV, fig. 116, 

 117) two pictures of youug specimeus of Zeugopterus, 19 & 30 mm long, 

 which according to his statement have no spiues, aud these specimeus he 

 refers to Z. megastoma, stating that he had "a complete series" from 19 — 5(5 mm. 

 Now the matter is that his lougest specimeus (see his fig. 118) very much 



