364 THE RELATIONS OF CYCLOPTEROIDEA GILL. 



fications coordinate, SO that "it would * ♦ * necessitate the estab- 

 lishment of a family for its reception." The suppression or loss of the 

 ventral apparatus is another matter, and might have been anticipated 

 without violence to morphological conceptions. In reality, such a t.yi)e 

 has actually been discovered, for Paraliparis or Amitra is a form des- 

 titute of the ventral sucker and yet, as shown by its skeletal characters, 

 is in all other respects a true Liparidid. 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 



The geographical range of the Cyclopteroidea presents some interest- 

 ing features, although accordant with those of various other families. 



Dr. Giinther (Introduction, p. 282, 1880,) has remarked that "the 

 Discoboli of the Northern Hemisphere have likewise not penetrated to 

 the south, where they are representee! by Gohiesocidw. These two fam- 

 ilies replace each other in their distribution over the globe.'''' 



The Discoboli {i. e. Cycloptcridce and Liparidida;) occur in the same 

 waters in the British seas and one or more species of Liparididce have 

 been found in the Southern Hemisphere. 



Professor Putnam long ago (1873, Proc. Am. Ass. Adv. Sc, p. 310, 

 1874) formulated the facts representing the geographical distribution 

 of the groups in question : 



While the Cyclopteridw a-jd Lipartdida; have tlieir greatest development iu aud to- 

 wards the Arctic [polar*] regions, the Gobiesocidie have theirs towards the Tropics, 

 being found throughout the tropical and temperate regions of the Pacific and Atlan- 

 tic, andhavingbutoue genus, with one or two species only, extending from the Med- 

 iterranean to the British and Scandinavian coasts, t 



Professor Putnam has further remarked : 



The newly discovered species ILiparis antarctica] is, however, true to the habits of 

 the group, and comes from the cold waters of the extreme south, while no interme- 

 diate forms have yet been found in the wide space between Eden Harbor aud San 

 Francisco, though it is probable that other species will be discovered in the cold 

 waters of the South American coast. The representatives of the group are lovers of 

 cold waters, as shown not only by their distribution, but by their habits; for though 

 in the more temperate countries where they are found, as on our coast, they come to 

 the shore in the cold winter mouths to leave their eggs, they afterwards retire to 

 deeper and colder waters, and iu the summer have only been taken on the coast of 

 Massachusetts and Maine by means of the dredge. 



This generalization was amply justified by the facts known when 

 Professor Putnam formulated it sixteen years ago and has been still 

 further fortified since. 



In 1874, Professor Putnam described a Liparidid from a single speci- 

 men 1^ inches long, obtained at Eden Harbor (lat. 48° S.) as Liparis ant- 

 arctica. 



* Professor Putnam had on the previous page (339) described the Liparis antarctica 

 "from Eden Harbor, about latitude 48^ south," and other Cyclopteroidea have since 

 been found in Antarctic waters. 



t Other species of Gohiesocidw extend the range of the family into the temperate 

 waters of both the Northern aud Sjuthern Hemispheres. 



