472 



Survey of Fishing- Grounds, West Coast of Ireland, 1890-1891. 



and the antero-superior part of the first dorsal black. The posterior outlines 

 of the bones of the gill-cover, and the margin of the orbit, and of the oval 

 groove are marked by lines of deep blue. The iris is black ; the mouth closely 

 si^eckled with dark pigment. 



The action of alcohol tends to eliminate the blue colour ; hence the specimen 

 X, which has been longest in spirits, shows less blue than the rest. The same 

 reason, probably, accounts for the absence of any mention of a blue colouration 

 in the description of the type specimens, since these were onlj- known to Dr. 

 Giinther in the preserved condition. 



Locality and Distribution. — The Survey examples are seven in number, trawled 

 in one haul at 500 fathoms, 54 miles off Achill Head, on the 10th July, 1890. 

 The species was not previously known from British waters. Dr. Giinther's 

 type specimens, two in number, were taken by the " Challenger " at 600 fathoms, 

 off tlie coast of Portugal. Vaillaut obtained sixteen examples, from the Bay of 

 Biscay, the coasts of Morocco and Soudan, and the Canary Islands, at depths 

 of from 248 to 714 fathoms. 



Section III. ( Vide p. 450.) 

 Intermaxillary teeth, uni- or bi-serial ; mandibular teeth, uni-serial. 



A. Dorsal spine smooth. 



Sub-genus Malacocephalus. 



Macrurus laevis, Lowe. (Deep-sea.) 



(PI. XL., figs. 3 and 3«.) 



Macrurus Icevis, 

 Malacocephalus Icevis, 



Macrurus Icevis, 



11 



11 

 11 



Lowe, " Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond.," 1843, p. 92. 

 GiJNTHER, "Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus.," vol. iv., p. 397. 

 LiJTKEN, "Vid. Meddel. Nat. Foren. Kjoben.," 



1872, p. 1. 

 GiJNTHER, "Chall.," vol. xxii., p. 148, pi. xxxix. b. 

 GuNTHER, "Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.," vol. iv., 1889, 



p. 418. 

 Bourne, " Journ. M.B.A.," N.S., vol. i., No. 3, 



p. 311. 

 Alcock, "Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.," 1889, p. 391. 

 Holt, "Proc. Roy. Dub. Soc," and vol. vii., pt. 3 



p. 220. 



Diagnosis of Species. (D. 11-13; P. 16-18; V. 8-9.) — Head compressed. 



