a neio LopMoid Fish from Greenland. 337 



hrancMostegal rays it is not easy without dissection to observe 

 more than the two tolerably strong ones, of which the tips 

 reach the anterior margin of the branchial cleft; but over 

 these there are besides two similar ones on each side, and be- 

 low them two much thinner ones, of which the lowest especi- 

 ally is very easily overlooked ; there are consequently (so far 

 as I could ascertain by very cautious dissection) six pairs of 

 branchiostegal rays, as in Ceratias, or one more than are 

 ascribed to Melanocetus. Opercular branchige are wanting. 



What I can state with regard to the internal structure is 

 briefly as follows. The lining of the ventral cavity is coal- 

 black. The liver ^ which occupies the greater part of it, is not 

 (as in Lophius) divided by notches into several lobes, and ter- 

 minates on each side in a short, thick, obtuse, conical process, 

 which is more developed on the left than on the right side. 

 The gall-bladder is of considerable size, lies nearer to the liver 

 than in Lophius^ and opens through the gall-duct into the 

 intestine at a very considerable distance from the stomach. 

 On each side of the external lateral walls of the stomach we 

 see three elegantly sinuous narrow bands which spring from 

 the aponeuroses which externally almost entirely cover the 

 oesophagus ; the foremost and the hindmost of these bands are 

 shorter, and terminate at some distance from the lower surface 

 of the stomach ; but the middle one is twice as long, bends 

 round at a right angle, and continues, giving off a smaller 

 lateral branch, and following the curvatures of the stomach, 

 quite to the pylorus. (Upon the dark ground formed by the 

 wall of the stomach this yellowish band forms as it were an 

 elegant embroidery.) The stomach itself is of considerable 

 size, pyriform or sacciform, symmetrical, thick-walled and 

 muscular, dark-coloured, with its mucous membrane finely 

 folded and curled ; from the short and spacious oesophagus it 

 descends in a straight line, constantly enlarging, so that the 

 bottom of the sac is formed by its hindmost and lowest ex- 

 tremity, whilst the pylorus is situated quite in front under the 

 liver. At this point, in fact, the narrowed (but not produced) 

 pyloric portion of the stomach passes into the mucli more 

 spacious intestine, from which, however, it is sharply distin- 

 guished. The intestine, which at first turns upward and to 



absent "). On the other hand, we read as follows in Johannes Miiller's 

 celebrated treatise on the respiratory organs of fishes (^^erg•leichende 

 Anatomie der Myxiuoiden, dritte Fortsetzung, p. 75) : — '' Pedicidati. All 

 the genera examined had free pseudobranchiie — namely, the genera Lo- 

 phiuK, Chironectes, and MaltJie.'" As regards tlie first-mentioned genus, 

 at anv rate, the thing is certain and easy to nseertain. 



