of the Sea-devil (Lophius piscatorius). 193 



inches in length. The same is the case in that singular Cey- 

 lonese lizard, Ceratophora, in which the lo7i(/ rostral horn is a 

 character peculiar to the mature male, I need not mention the 

 numerous analogous examples in mammals and birds. 



The Mediterranean and Scandinavian specimens agree in the 

 chief points : their head, compared with mature individuals, is 

 shorter and less depressed; the anterior dorsal spine is shorter 

 than the following ones, which are more fringed ; the pectoral 

 and ventral fins are much longer and much more expansible ; 

 the fin-rays are produced into delicate filaments; in short, the 

 young Sea-devils are provided with a doivn, which is lost with 

 age- 

 One objection might be raised against this opinion : — Young 

 specimens of the Asiatic species of Sea-devil {Lophius setigerus) 

 exist in almost every collection, as the artful Chinese dealers in 

 objects of natural history dry them, and having pinned them 

 down, sell them as insects to the European collector. These 

 specimens are 2 inches or less in length; and one ought na- 

 turally to expect, from the close affinity of the European and 

 Asiatic species, that the young state of the latter would be 

 conformable with that of the former. Although this is not the 

 case (these small Chinese specimens not showing any striking 

 difi"erence from larger ones), we cannot admit that this fact 

 contradicts our opinion as to L. eurypterus being the young 

 of a known species, — first, because many species which are ex- 

 tremely similar in a mature state are widely different from each 

 other in an earlier stage of development; secondly, because it is 

 not fully proved that these small Chinese specimens are of an 

 age corresponding to that of European ones of the same size. 

 L. setigerus may be a smaller species than L. piscatorius ; and 

 the Chinese dried fishes which come under our observation may 

 have already exceeded the age in which they show the downy 

 development' of their fins. The largest specimen of L. setigerus 

 measured 2 feet, whilst L. piscatorius attains to a length of 6 

 feet. 



There are two distinct species of Sea-devil in the European 

 seas — Lophius piscatorius and L. budegassa. The distinctness 

 of these two species has been doubted by most ichthyologists, 

 the second (called by Cuvier L. parvipinnis) having been founded 

 on apparently variable characters, as coloration and number of 

 the dorsal rays. The latter may be relied upon, if immature 

 specimens (not more than one foot in length) be examined, — L. 

 piscatorius having not less than eleven, and L. budegassa not 

 more than nine dorsal rays. But the anterior rays become very 

 indistinct in adult specimens of the former, and are totally lost 



