406 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
behind occiput. From this point a few pores may continue forward in a straight 
line. The fourth line forks above and in advance of the ventral fins, the upper 
branch extending for a variable distance on sides of abdomen, the lower very short, 
extending directly to base of ventrals. In H. asper, as well as in all other species of — 
Hexagrammus, the fourth line is not forked, and bends downward to touch in passing 
the base of ventral fins. 
In younger specimens a black humeral spot is conspicuous, but this grows less 
evident with age. 
The spinous portion of the dorsal fin is shorter, and the soft portion, as well the 
anal fin, longer than in H. asper. Following are the fin-formule in ten specimens 
from Unalaska: 
Dorsal. | Anal. Dorsal. Anal. Dorsal. Anal. 
eS ules | | | 
©) Gp UR 3 sete a ee | 25 | >. ©. .E ers air 24 | ROG Bio sone sateen ey | 
[2-107 Cae eee 25 1 (SNATSNen 3 ome ere sae 23 || XX, 23. | 25 
SUEX, 2d be. otros D8 || RUE oes ae ea DA | SCR 3 ee es ee 24 
Dd) BLEW et na athe 23 | 
The last ray of soft dorsal and anal is forked and is counted as one in this table. 
The species does not seem to reach as large a size as do other species of the genus. 
Of numerous specimens, the largest is 285 mm. long. A female, 225 mm. long, con- 
tains fully developed eggs. The species was obtained by seining in the harbor at 
Unalaska. It was not seined elsewhere and did not occur in any of the dredge 
hauls. ; 
38. Hexagrammus asper Steller. 
No adults of this species were obtained by dredging, but young specimens were 
taken in large numbers in the shallow waters of Bristol Bay at the following sta- 
tions: 3228, 3229, 3231, 3232, 3233, 3234, 3239, 3240, 3241, 3243, and 3245, at depths 
of from 44} to 144 fathoms. Seining parties brought in the species but once, a 
single young specimen and one adult appearing at Unalaska among the prevalent 
H. ordinatus. The largest individuals dredged measure about 125 mm. in length, 
the adult specimen from Unalaska 345 mm. 
The characters of the species seem very constant. The dorsal varies from XXIII, 
19 to XXIV, 21; the anal from 23 to 24. In 15 specimens the dorsal formule run as 
follows: Xx111, 19; xx11, 19; xxuHI, 20; xxi, 20; xxi, 20; xxi, 20; xx, 20; 
XI, 205 XX, 215 xx, 21; xx, 21; xx, 215 xxiv, 20; xxv, 20s)scxtv, 20! 
The anal fin shows the following counts in 12 specimens: 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 24, 
24, 24, 24, 24, 24. 
The body isin young specimens much more slender than in H. ordinatus. It is also 
lighter in color, and lacks the round humeral spot present in the latter. The supra- 
ocular flap is somewhat smaller, the cheeks are more extensively naked, the eye is 
larger, and the mucous canal system less strongly developed. ‘The snout, cheeks, 
opercles, and lower side of head are naked, with the exception of a patch of small, — 
loosely imbricated scales on the upper posterior part of cheeks and the upper third 
of opercles. The dorsal line of pores is very inconspicuous, and terminates in front 
of the middle of spinous dorsal. In none of our specimens are there traces of a line 
of pores on middle of sides. 
The species can be distinguished at once from all others by the slender caudal 
peduncle, the shallow notch between dorsals, the fin-formule, the short upper line of 
pores which end under anterior half of spinous dorsal, the largely naked cheeks and 
opercles, the simple unbranched fourth lateral line, and the extreme roughness of 
the scales. 
