[ 361 J 



IX. 



SURVEY OF FISHING-GROUNDS, WEST COAST OF IRELAND, 1890-1891. 

 REPORT ON THE RARER FISHES. By ERNEST W. L. HOLT, and 

 W. L. CALDERWOOD, F.R.S.E. 



(Plates XXXIX. to XLIV.) 



(communicated by the fishery committee.) 

 I Read December 16, 1891.*] 



INTRODUCTION. 



Reports, already published, giving results of fishing operations, have dealt with 

 the commoner forms found during the Survey, and scientific evidence upon 

 economic questions. 



A preliminary series of notes has also been published concerning the 

 occurrence of the rarer forms, and, in addition, these have been very briefly 

 dealt vrith in the reports already alluded to. 



In the present Paper we propose to deal with the rarer forms in greater 

 detail, more especially with regard to their structure and affinities, the whole 

 being introduced by some remarks on the vertical and horizontal distribution — a 

 subject which, from the nature of the specimens procured, is of no small interest. 



While it is our purpose to treat the shore and deei3-sea fishes separately, it is 

 manifestly inconvenient to relegate to distant parts of the text species which, 

 though differing in vertical habitat, are so closely allied as to call for comparative 

 description. We have, therefore, endeavoured to evade the difficulty by affixing 

 to the name of each species the category to which it belongs, whether " deep-sea " 

 or " littoral," and have further appended a list of the forms which come under 

 these two headings. Purely Pelagic forms are unfortunately not represented in 

 the Survey collections. 



In determining the qualifications which relegates a species to one or othej 

 category we have followed Dr. Giinther,! and shall therefore include amongst the 



*■ The publication of this Paper has been unavoidably delayed, 

 f " Eeport on the Deep-Sea Fishes." — " Challenger," vol. xxii. 



lEANS. ROY. DUB. SOC, N.S. VOL. V., PARTIS. 3 Gr 



