ANGLER FISHES GILL. 



591 



In 1903 in our explorations in the Bahama Islands we did not secure a speci- 

 men of Malthe. I saw some dried in the curio shops, but not knowing where 

 they came from did not collect any. 



The number of species of Ogcocephalus is not quite certain, Jor- 

 dan and Evermann, however, recognize three species for the eastern 

 coast of America, and Garman has described a sj^ecies which he con- 

 siders to be " intermediate " between the 0. vespertilio and 0. longi- 

 Tostris from off the Cocos Islands (lat. 5° 32' 45" N., long. 86° 

 54' 30" W.). The Pacific Ocean species was obtained from a depth 

 of 66 fathoms. 



Another species of the Ogcocephaline group is also an inhabitant 

 of the Pacific waters and has been dredged off the coasts of Mexico 

 and Central America; it has a broader disk than the typical Ogco- 

 eeyhal'i and has been 

 named by Jordan and 

 Evermann Zalieutes 

 elater. 



The Halieutseines 

 have the forehead flat, 

 or nearly so, the disk 

 generally rounded or 

 truncate in front and 

 the rostal tentacle 

 (when present) di- 

 rected forward. The 

 species are of small 

 size, ranging mostly 

 from little more than an inch, as in the case of Halieutella lappa, 

 to about 6 inches, to which size Dihranchus atlanticus sometimes 

 attains. It must be remembered, however, that in most cases our 

 idea of the size is obtained from knowledge of few individuals, 

 and may require to be modified hereafter. Another noteworthy fact 

 is that a reddish color or hue is dominant in most of the species, but 

 not in all. This color is largely associated with fishes of the moder- 

 ately deej) but not abyssal seas. 



With the exception of the Chinese and Japanese Halieutcjea stellata 

 all the species are inhabitants of deep seas. They are distributed 

 among nine genera, distinguished by the presence or absence of 

 vomerine and palatine teeth, the number of gills (whether 2 or 2^ 

 pairs), the size and direction of the mouth, and the form of the disk. 



There is a genus which has been named Malthopsis and approxi- 

 mated to Malthe {Ogcocephalus), which, however, is rather more 

 related to Halieuta'a and its kindred, so far at least as most of the 

 species associated with it are concerned. The typical species {Mal- 

 thopsis luteus) is exceptional on account of the projection above the 



Fig. 32. — Malthopsis luteus. After Alcock. 



