Dr. E. Crisp on the Structure of the Wolf-fish. 465 



specimens the long process of the premaxillary bone contains 

 teeth, but in the remaining two they are absent ; nor does the 

 absence appear to depend upon age, judging from the specimens 

 alluded to. 



In only one specimen of six that I have seen are the front 

 teeth perfect, a circumstance readily accounted for from the na- 

 ture of the food and the ferocity of the fish, which, when cap- 

 tured, bites at everything presented to it. The one on the table 

 snapped a large stick with the greatest ease, and Mr. Quekett 

 tells me that he has met with several of the spines of the larger 

 Echini broken by the teeth of this animal. Another reason may 

 be mentioned likewise why the teeth are so often broken. The 

 alveolar process is very slight, and the crown of the tooth is but 

 imperfectly attached to the bone beneath, so that it would not 

 require much force to fracture it. 



The oesophagus is very short, and large in diameter. The 

 stomach, which has no csecal appendages, is about 5 inches in 

 length, thick, and muscular, and furnished with rugje, which 

 towards the pylorus, present a honeycomb-like appearance. The 

 pyloric opening is supplied with a strong valvular ring, which is 

 very dilatable, and would readily admit the passage of large pieces 

 of shell into the duodenum. The intestines, from the mouth to 

 the anus, measure 46 inches, and are of large size throughout, 

 measuring (when distended) from 1 inch to an inch and a quarter 

 in diameter. On comparing these with the intestines of the 

 Carp weighing 6 lbs., the contrast is most remarkable, for al- 

 though the alimentary canal of the latter fish is 40 inches long, 

 the cahbre of the tube is at least four-fifths less than that of the 

 Anarrhichas. The anal opening is very large. 



The liver is of a whitish colour and fatty. The gall-bladder 

 very large, holding 11 drachms of water by measurement. The 

 spleen (milt) of an oval form, and resembles somewhat the spleen 

 of a large gallinaceous bird. The kidneys are 10 inches in length, 

 the urinary bladder rather small, and the air-bladder is wanting! 

 The subjoined is the weight of the various organs. 



Weight of fish 121 lbs. ; length 2 ft. 9 inches. 



Weight of liver 1880 grains ; spleen 110 grs. ; kidney 506 grs. ; 

 heart 120 grs. 



The blood globules of this fish do not differ from those of 

 many other species that I have examined. 



In a future communication my endeavour will be to show, by 

 the aid of the microscope, the structure of the lining membrane 

 of the alimentary canal, which probably possesses some pecu- 

 liarities which enable it to resist the hard, rough and angular 

 pieces of shell that are constantly in contact with it. My object 

 in this paper has been more particularly to point out the large 



