4 i4 FISHES 



but was probably taken by the dredge on its way to the sur- 

 face. 



Polyipnus (many lanterns) is one of the most remarkable of 

 this family, having no less than 55 luminous organs on each side. 

 It was obtained by the Challenger at 250 fathoms between the 

 Philippine Islands and Borneo, and by the Indian vessel In- 

 vestigator at about 200 fathoms. It is not therefore an abyssal 

 fish and probably not a bottom fish. Two species of the Ster- 

 noptychidae have been taken on or near the British coasts. One 

 of these, Maurolicus pennantii, is common in the Mediterranean ; 

 it is a small slender fish more regular in shape and not so deep in 

 the body as Sternoptyx ; the sides are silvery and there are two 

 row of luminous organs along the ventral edge. It has occurred 

 most frequently on the north-eastern coast of Britain, not as 

 might be expected on the south coast ; usually it has been cast 

 ashore during storms ; in 1882 about 170 specimens were picked 

 up on the beach at Aberdeen after storms in January, February, 

 and March. It has also been obtained at the Orkneys, in Wick, 

 in the Firth of Forth, at Redcar in Yorkshire, in Devonshire, 

 at Weston-super-mare and off Flintshire, and in Ireland near 

 Dublin. It is evidently a pelagic fish living near the surface 

 and possesses little power of active swimming. Of the other 

 species, Argyropelecus hemigymnus, only a single specimen has 

 been taken in the British area, having been caught in the dredge 

 by the Porcupine in 1869 at a depth of 540 fathoms between 

 the Shetlands and the Faroe Islands. In the Mediterranean 

 and the Atlantic it has been frequently taken at night at the 

 surface. 



The Sternoptychidae belong to the sub-order of Soft-finned 

 Fishes or Malacopterygii, and the Stomiatida? are by Boulenger 

 united with them in one family ; it is, however, more convenient 

 to consider the Stomiatidae as a separate family. The majority 

 of these fishes are undoubtedly abyssal and are never taken at 

 the surface. They are usually of elongated form with large 

 mouths and formidable dentition, evidently of voracious and 

 predatory habits, and they usually possess conspicuous luminous 

 organs. One of the commonest of these fishes is Chauliodus 

 sloani ; it has been long known from the Mediterranean and has 

 been obtained from various depths from 500 to 2000 fathoms 

 in the Atlantic and the Bay of Bengal. It has on each side a 



