THE WHIFF AND THE RHOMBUS CARDINA. 537 



and when it chances to become fastened in the net with 

 other fishes, it is mostly thrown away. 



Bloch's Topknot (R. punctatus, Yarr.), it should be 

 observed, has not as yet been met with in the Scandinavian 

 'seas. It may always be distinguished from Miiller's 

 Topknot by the elongated first ray of the dorsal fin, by 

 both sides of the body being rough, by the large eyes, and 

 the separation between the ventral and anal fins. 



The Whiff (Stor-munt Hoar, or large-mouthed hvar, 

 Sw. ; JS. Hegastoma, Donov.) has not hitherto been met 

 with, either in the Bohus Skargard, or elsewhere on the 

 Swedish coast ; but it is not uncommon on the western 

 coast of Norway, at Glesviir (lat. 60) and Bergen 

 (60^), where it is called Sjaa-hjeft and Glas-flynder 

 respectively, both names being applied by reason of its 

 thin and transparent appearance. It is said to remain in 

 the Norwegian seas all the year round, at a depth of 

 from eighty to a hundred fathoms, and to spawn in 

 April or May. 



The Rhombus Canlina, B. Fries (Sma-IIvar, or little 

 hvar, Sw.), was exceedingly rare in the Bohus Skargard, 

 and hitherto has not been met with elsewhere in the Scan- 

 dinavian seas. Couch, our eminent ichthyologist, says of 

 this fish: " There cannot be a doubt that the name R. Car- 

 diua, given to it by Swedish authors, is -misapplied, as it 

 bears little likeness to the species thus named by Cuvier. 

 I have, therefore, assigned to it the name of ' Ekstrom's 

 Top-knot.' ' And in describing this new species, of which, 

 I believe, only a single specimen has been met with in 

 England, he remarks : " Both eyes are nearer the snout 

 than in B. hirtus, Yarr. ; on the checks the scales are 

 regular and plainly visible, while they are not discerned in 

 the R. hirtus ; the pectoral is longer and more pointed, 

 and the uneoloured side, as well as the cheeks, is covered 

 with ciliated scales, which is not the case in /'. 



