350 



Zeus faber L. 

 Our knowledge of the early post-larval stages of tlie John Dory seems 

 to be restricted to the excellent descriptions of Schmidt in " Medd. 

 fra Komm. for Havund. Serie Fiskeri," Bind II, No. 9, 1908. These 

 post-larvse ranged from 7f mm. to 19 mm. in length, and were taken in 

 the English Channel " almost all within the 100-metre curve " from the 

 end of August to the middle of September. My own observations con- 

 firm and supplement those of the Thor. The series which I have 

 recorded ranges from 4-5 to 23 mm., and all were captured within the 

 twenty and forty fathom contour lines, from the beginning of August 

 to the end of September. Six of these from 4-5 to 7-5 mm. represent 

 younger stages than Schmidt's earliest post-larva of 7f mm., and I have 

 described and figured two of these, one of 4-5 mm. and one of 6 mm. The 

 remaining fourteen, from 8 to 23 mm., agree in every respect so closely with 

 Schmidt's series that nothing by way of description need be added here. 



Fig. 1. Length 4-5 mm. 

 The maximum height is 2-04 mm., and the length from snout to 

 caudal fin 3 06 mm. The highest point of the body lies directly over 

 the posterior margin of the orbit, and in front of the first dorsal fin. The 

 resemblance in shape to a parallelogram noted by Schmidt for his 

 7f mm. post-larva is roughly defined. The angle of the snout is very 

 nearly 90°. The contour of the eye is not quite complete, but, so far 

 as can be judged, its diameter is about equal to the length of the snout. 

 The notochord is straight and extends about | along the caudal fin, 

 whose rays are only partially developed. The unpaired fins are still 



