133 



Coast Xortli America from Grcenl. to Georgia'' (Proc. Acad. 

 Nat. Sci. Philad. 1861, Append, p. 48) under Navnet Mo- 

 tella reinhardt,' Kl'., fremdeles af samme Forfatter i iS6?> 

 i hans "Synopsis of the North Americn Gndoid, Fishes" 

 (samme Tidsski'. f. 1863. p. 241) under Navn af Onos 

 reinhardii, Gill. samt endelig 1873 i den reviderede Cata- 

 log af 1861, der er indtaget i U. S. Fish Commission. Re- 

 port 1871— 72, p. 796 (Wash. 1873). 



Gill giver iøvrigt ingen anden Oplysuing om Arten, 

 end følgende Ord, tilføjede i hans -'Synopsis": "Closely 

 related to the O. mnsfela. of Europe, and agreeing in hav- 

 ing five barbels, one to each nostril, and one at the chin," 

 en Diagnose, som det vil sees, er ganske ucorrect. 



Den sidste Gang. Arten findes omtalt, er i 1875 i 

 Liitkeu's "Revised Catalogue of the Fishes of Greenland" 

 (Man. Nat. Hist. etc. Greenl., prep, for the Arct. Exped. 

 of 1875). Den kaldes her Motella reinhardti, Kr., men er, 

 ligesom de øvrige i Fortegnelsen opregnede Arter, ikke 

 meddelt Diagnose eller Beskrivelse. 



Flere end de 4, i Kjøbenhavns zoologiske Musæum 

 opbevarede (udvoxede) Individer have hidtil ikke været 

 fundne. Opdn geisen nf 2 nye Exemplarer, der desuden for 

 første Gang optræde paa det europæiske Gebet, er derfor 

 ikke uden Interesse. 



Endskjønt det ikke er i Overensstemmelse med Pri- 

 oritetslovenes strengeste Principer, at en Arts Benævnelse 

 blot begrundes ved et i en Catalog og paa en Etikette 

 nedskrevet Navn, bør Arten dog fremdeles opføres under 

 dette hidtil benyttede Navn, der ikke kan volde nogeu For- 

 virring ; dog lader dette Navn sig ikke med fuld Sikkerhed 

 henføre til det bestemte Aar, 1852. 



Imidlertid omtaler Reinhardt i en af sine tidligere 

 Meddelelser om Grønlands Fiske, en anden Art, som han 

 kakler Motella argeufata, der øjensynlig udgjor Ungdoms- 

 stadiet af en af de 3-traadede Moteller (0. rdnhardi, eller 

 0. erisis). Af M. argentata erholdt Reinhardt i Aarene 

 1831 — 36 fra Syd-Grønland, især fra Julianehaabs District, 

 talrige Exemplarer, der samtlige havde en jevn Størrelse 

 af 2 Tom. 7 Lin., til 2 Tom. 1 1 Linier. I Oversigten for 

 1835 — 36 af Danske Vidensk. Selskabs Skrifter characteri- 

 serer Reinhardt M. argentata ved dens „ sølvblanke Farve, 

 det forrelagtige stumpe Hoved, og især ved den tiadt ind- 

 skaarne Halefinne-'. I 1838 giver han i 7de Del af samme 

 Selskabs Skrifter, p. 128, yderligere en Del Bemærkninger 

 om denne Art, der omtales som bærende 2 Hudtrevler paa 

 Snuden, og 1 paa Hagen; Gjællestraalernes Antal var 7, 

 Appendices pyloricae 8; Svømmeblære manglede. Tydelige 

 Forplantningsorganer faudtes ikke lios de aabnede Exem- 

 plarer. 



Efter den Undersøgelse af disse i Kjøbenhavns zoolo- 

 giske Musæum endnu opbevarede talrige Individer af M. 

 argentata samt af 4 i Berliner- og Wiener-Musæet, i sin 

 Tid sendte af Reinhardt, som jeg i 1878 og 1879 havde 

 Anledning til at foretage, fandtes deres Størrelse at væ.re 

 mellem 70 og 80""», hvoraf Hovedets Længde indeholdtes 



the species in 'his -'Catal. Fishes East Coast North Ame- 

 rica from Greenl. to Georgia" (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. 

 1861, Append, p. 48), by the name of Motella remhardi, 

 Kr. ; also (1863) for his "Synopsis of the North American 

 Gadoid Fishes" (same journal for 1863, p. 241), where it 

 is termed Onos reinhardiu Gill; and finally (1873), for the 

 revised Catalogue of 1861. inserted in U. S. Fisli Com- 

 mission. Report 1871—72. p. 7'.16 (Wash. 1873). 



All that Gill says about the species is contained in the 

 following words in his Synopsis: — "Closely related to the 

 0. mustela of Europe, and agreeing in having five barbels, 

 one to eacli nostril, and one at the chin," — as will be 

 seen, a diagnosis absolutely incorrect. 



This species was last noticed in Liitkeu's "Revised 

 Catalogue of the Fishes of Greenland" (Man. Nat. Hist, 

 etc. Greenland, prep, for the Arct. Exped. of 1875). Here 

 it bears the name of Motella reinhardti. but. like the other 

 species enumerated in the List, without being made the 

 subject of any diagnosis or description. 



Other individuals, exclusive of the- 4 full-grown pre- 

 served in the Zoological Museum, Copenhagen, have not as 

 yet been observed. Hence, this addition to the extant 

 specimens of the species, and moreover from within tlie 

 European limits of its range, cannot but prove of interest. 



It is not indeed in strict accordance with the prin- 

 ciples determining the right of priority, that the designation 

 of a species should be derived solely from a name taken 

 from a manuscript label ■ or a Catalogue ; but it will be 

 best to retain the synonym hitherto employed, seeing that 

 no confusion can arise from so doing; this name, however, 

 will. hardly admit of being referred to the year 1852. 



But Reinhardt records in one of liis earlier com- 

 munications on the fishes of Greenland another spe- 

 cies, "Motella argentata," clearly one of the three- 

 bearded specieg (0. remhardi or 0. ensis) in an early 

 stage of growth. Of M. argentata Reinhardt obtained, 

 during the period extending from 1831 to 1836, from South 

 Greenland, chieiiy from the distinct of Julianehaab, numer- 

 ous examples, all of which averaged in length from 2 inch. 7 

 lines to 2 inch. 11 lines. In the "Oversigt" of the Pro- 

 ceedings of. the "Danske Vidensk. Selskab," Reinhardt 

 characterises M. argentata by its "bright silvery hue. ob- 

 tuse head, resembling that of the trout, and more espec- 

 ially by the slightly forked caudal fin." In 1838. he com- 

 municated in Part 7 of the Proceedings of the said Society, 

 p. 128, divers supplementary observations on this species, 

 which is stated to have 2 cirri on the snout, and 1 on the 

 chin. Brancheostegous rays 7 ; pyloric appendages 8 ; swim- 

 ming-bladder wanting. On dissection, no trace of sexual 

 characters could be detected. 



From an examination which I had opportunity of 

 making in 1878 and 1879 of numerous specimens of M. ar- 

 gentata still preserved in the Zoological Museum of Copen- 

 hagen (and of 4 in the Museums of Berlin and Vienna, ori- 

 ginally sent by Reinh. sen.), their extreme length may be 

 given as averaging between 70""" and 80""", to which the 



