7 
The rays of the ventral fins were damaged following the capture of the specimen 
so that exact lengths could not be determined. They are 3 mm. wide at the 
base. The median and shortest of the three rays reached slightly beyond the 
extremity of the caudal fin. At its base and medial to it the bud of a fourth 
ray was visible and lateral to the outer or longest ray the bud of a fifth ray. 
The entire body, except the ventral surface between the anal fin and the origin 
of the ventral fins, is mottled with dark brownish dendriform pigment spots. 
The caudal fin is only slightly pigmented along its rays. On the upper surface 
of the head three post-orbital spines were already visible. 
RATE OF GROWTH. 
While the structure of the young embryo at the time of hatching and the 
following larval stages have been studied by various authors little is known 
concerning the post-larval conditions and the rate of growth of the Angler. <A 
description of a post-larval stage rarely met with has already been given. After 
reaching the advanced post-larval stage it must seek greater depths, or seek 
protection among algae-covered rocks, for specimens up to four or five inches 
have rarely been observed either in American or European waters. According 
to Fulton (19038, p. 187) one of the smallest European specimens found was 
127 mm. or five inches long. 
To determine the rate of growth it is, of course, necessary to begin with the 
time of spawning. The period of spawning extends, as already mentioned, 
from June to August; eggs in early stages of development were found in both 
months in the same waters, namely Passamaquoddy Bay. Moreover, larval 
stages 8 to 9 mm. in length, and a post-larval stage 26 mm. in length, were taken 
August 9th at Brazil Rock, near the mouth of the Bay of Fundy. 
Fig. 2. Photograph of Angler about three inches long, 
captured in Halifax Harbour, N.S. 
One of the youngest specimens found in Canadian waters and indeed one of 
the smallest on record was caught in Halifax Harbour in 1870 and is preserved 
in the Provincial Museum. It was identified by Dr. Theodore Gill, and a detailed 
description of it is given by J. M. Jones in a report of the Nova Scotian Institute 
of Science (Vol. III,. p. 103, 1871). Unfortunately, it is not now in a good state 
119 
