16 



SMITT, ON THE GENUS LYCODES. 



older specimens woultl belong to the typical reticulatus ; biit 



it is to be noted, that just tbose specimens (N:o 31 — 34) 



which in their coloration and scah^ covering come nearest 



to the type of E,einhakdt's reticulatus, would be referred to 



scminudus, as judged from the supposed teeth-character. The 



names therefore would rather be changed, the one for the 



other. This is the reason, why I cannot acknowledge the 



value af this character. But Collett, in his classical work 



on these fishes,^ has distinguished two forms, characterised 



by the low body. The one, belonging to the Vahlii-gronj), 



he named Lycodes pallidus, the other, of the reticuJatus-gvou^, 



he identified with Reinhardt's Ltjc. seminudus. These I have 



tried to find again in our collection, with the result which 



will easily be seen already in niy table of averages for the 



six primary forms (table IV). For all the respective heights 



— the greatest height of the body (usually at the anterior 



end of the trunk, altp), the height at the beginning of the 



anal fin (aZf,,) and that at the midst of the base of the anal 



fin {altj„) — in the VaJdii-grovip the relative figures are less 



for the paUidus than for the typical form, just as in the 



reficuJatus-gron-p the figures for seminudus are less than those 



for the true reticulatus. In the former group, however, this 



may possibly be explained as a consequence of the evolutional 



changes, for the specimens of pallidus in averages are conside- 



rably smaller than those of the true Vahlii, and a single glance 



at the primary figures (table II) will show that these relative 



n (alt,,' , altj , 1 alt', 



figures '': %, " % and "V 



*= \ /a ' /a ' la 



Besides, there are no constant characters in these respects, 

 for the maxima and minima are as follows: 



% are increasing with age. 



1 Noric. N. Atlant. Exped. 1876—78. Zool, Fisk., pp. 110 and 113. 



