TKICHIUKID.E. 



435 



of the head regularly decurved from the nape to the snout, the 

 occiput and forehead being elevated and trenchant. Jaws with 

 fangs ; palatine teeth present. One dorsal only, continued from 

 the head to the caudal fin, which is distinct. A dagger-shaped 

 spine behind the vent. Pectoral fins inserted almost horizontally, 

 with the lowest rays longest, and with the posterior border 

 emarginate. Ventral fins rudimentary, scale-like. 



This is another deep-sea form of this family, but, at pre- 

 sent, no observations have been made as regards the exact 

 depth at which it occurs. A specimen has been known since 

 the year 1812 ; it was found on the coast of Scotland, and 

 described as Trichiurus lepturus. The same species has been 

 re-discovered in the West Indies, where, however, it is also 

 extremely scarce. 



Lepidopus.— Body band-like ; one single dorsal extends along 

 the Avhole length of tlie back ; caudal well developed. Ventrals 

 reduced to a pair of scales. Scales none. Several fangs in the 

 jaws ; teeth on the palatine bones. 



The Scabbard-fish (Z. caudatus) is rather common in the 

 Mediterranean and warmer parts of the Atlantic, extending 



Fig. 192. — Lepido^His caudatus. 



northwards to the south coast of England, where it is an 

 occasional visitor, and southwards to the Cape of Good Hope. 

 More recently it has been observed on the coasts of Tasmania 

 and New Zealand. We may, therefore, justly consider it to 

 be a deep-sea fish, which probably descends to the same depth 



