ICHTHYOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS OF THE ALBATROSS. 411 



49. Malacocottus zonurus Bean. 



Several specimens taken at stations 3227, 3330, 3331, north of Unalaska Island, and 

 at stations 3337 and 3339, soutli of Uuimak Island; depths, 138 to 351 fathoms. 



In addition to the characters given by Dr. Bean, we call attention to the following : 

 Nasal spines obsolete. Supraorbital rim low, slightly elevated in front but not 

 behind ; the interorbital space wide, shallowly concave. Occiput with two blunt, 

 conical protii'jerances in lieu of ridges, and without spines. A slight occipital 

 depression. Preopercular angle with three radiating spines of nearly equal length, 

 and a smaller spine directed outward in advance of the middle one of the three; 

 below these a partially concealed spine directed downward and forward. Opercular 

 rib very strong, sharp anteriorly, broadening behind, and provided with three low 

 ridges, not ending in a definite spine. A spinous point on subopercle and one on 

 interopercle ; none on shoulder. 



Anterior nasal tube short, the posterior margin prolonged into a laciniate flap. 

 Head well provided with slender cutaneous filaments; three on upper portion of 

 eyeball, four in a transverse line behind occiput, a very long one on opercular angle, 

 and numerous shorter ones on opercle, jaws, and along anterior portion of lateral 

 line. Branchiosfcegals 7. Body without plates or prickles; the head, including 

 upper part of eye, and the upper anterior part of body, with sparsely distributed 

 stellate grannlatious, visible only in large specimens. In our specimens the brown 

 bar at base of caudal is followed by a wide white bar, sometimes more or less broken ; 

 the terminal half of fin blackish, narrowly margined with white. 



50. Dasycottus setiger Bean. 



Taken at stations 3216, 3257, 3310, 3311, and 3334, located north and south of the 

 Alaskan Peninsula and north of Unalaska Island ; depths, 50 to 85 fathoms. 



Tubercles on head definitely placed : 1 in front of eye ; 4 above orbit, the poste- 

 rior two the largest ; a pair ou middle of suborbital stay, with a smaller one above 

 them; 1 on temporal region, and 1 on shoulder; by far the largest pair on occiput, 

 where they are high compressed spines, directed vertically upward, as long as diam- 

 eter of pupil. Nasal spines obsolete. Cirri are generally distributed over upper 

 part of head and body, the longer ones being specially numerous on maxillary, under 

 surface of mandible, and on the opercle and preopercle. Of the larger ones, two 

 often proceed from one base. A series of short filaments along upper edge of pupil. 

 Mucous pores large, those of the mandibular and buccal series slit-like. In adults, 

 the dorsal bands break up into series of spots and become inconspicuous. 



51. Icelus biconiis (Reinhardt). 



Not hitherto recorded from Pacific waters. Our specimens are more constant in 

 their characters than the Atlantic individuals reported on by Collett (Den Norske 

 Nordhavs Expedition, 1880, p. 35). A definite narrow band of fine prickles extends 

 along the upper edge of the dorsal series of plates, usually occupying less than half 

 the space between plates and base of dorsals, and extending posteriorly to end of 

 soft dorsal. Similar prickles cover top and sides of head. The plates of the lateral 

 line invariably extend to the root of the caudal fin, and the dorsal series to the back 

 of the caudal peduncle. None of the specimens before us have plates along the base 

 of the anal fin. The species differs conspicuously from /. spiniger and /. canalicu- 

 latits in having a deep pit on occiput, bounded laterally by high occipital ridges, 

 each of which bears two rounded prominences or spines. The preopercular spines 

 are longer and sharper, and the bifurcation of the upper spine deeper than in the 

 species mentioned. In two individuals the upper spine is trifurcate, the branches 

 very long and curving upward. The fin rays in six specimens are as follows : Dor- 

 sal viil-20, ix-19, ix-21, ix-20, ix-20, ix-19; anal 16, 16, 15, 17, 16, 15. These average 

 slightly higher than counts of Atlantic specimens, none of which are at hand for 

 comparison. The Pacific form may prove specifically separable. 



