452 PISCES (OSSEI) MALACOPT. [BROSMUS. 



GEN. 51. BROSMUS, Flem. 

 138. B. vulgaris, Flem. (Torsfc.) 



B. vulgaris, Flem. Brit. An. p. 194. Gadus Brosme, Gmel. Linn. 

 . torn. i. partiii. p. 1175. Don. Brit. Fish. vol. in. pi. 70. Turt. Brit. 



Faun. p. 92. Nilss. Prod. Ichth. Scand. p. 47. Torsk, Penn. 



Brit. Zool. vol. in. p. 203. pi. 34. Id. (Edit. 1812.) vol. in. p. 269. 



pi 37. Low, Faun. Ore. p. 200. 



LENGTH. From eighteen inches to two feet ; rarely three feet. NILSS. 

 Largest specimen observed by Low, three feet and a half. 



DESCRIPT. (Form.) Greatest depth (in a specimen twenty inches and 

 a half in length) four inches and a half: head small: upper jaw a little 

 the longest : both jaws with numerous small teeth : on the chin a small 

 single beard : belly, from the throat, growing suddenly very prominent, 

 continuing so to the vent, where it grows smaller to the tail ; body, be- 

 yond the vent, pretty much compressed : from the head to the dorsal fin 

 a broad furrow : lateral line scarcely discernible, but running nearer the 

 back than the belly, till about the middle of the fish, where it bends 

 a little downward, and then runs straight to the tail : dorsal running the 

 whole length of the back, within about an inch of the tail : anal begin- 

 ning at the vent, and ending at the tail, but not joined with it : the rays 

 of the dorsal and anal fins numerous, but from their softness, and from 

 the thickness of the skin, not easily counted with exactness: caudal 

 rounded : pectorals broad, and rounded : ventrals small, thick, fleshy, 

 ending in four points, or cirri. Low. The following is the number of 

 rays in the several fins, according to Donovan: 



D. 49; A. 37; C. 35; P. 21; V. 5. 



(Colours.) "Head dusky; back and sides yellow, the yellow becoming 

 lighter by degrees, and losing itself in the white of the belly : edges of 

 the dorsal, anal, and caudal fins white ; the other parts dusky : pectorals 

 brown." Low. 



A native of the northern seas. Represented by Low as being extremely 

 common on the coast of Shetland, where it forms a considerable article of 

 commerce. According to Pennant, it has not been discovered lower than 

 the Orkneys. Is sometimes called a Tusk. 



GEN. 52. PHYCIS, Arted. 



139. P. furcatus, Flem. (Common Fork-Beard.) 

 First dorsal more elevated than the second ; the first 

 ray very much elongated : ventrals twice as long as the 

 head. Cuv. 



P. furcatus, Flem. Brit. An. p. 193. P. blennoides, Nilss. Prod. 

 Ichth. Scand. p. 49. Asellus Callarias, Will. Hist. Pise. p. 205. 

 Ray, Syn. Pise. p. 75. Barbus major, Jago in Ray's Syn. Pise. 

 p. 163. fig. 7. Blennius Phycis, Turt. Brit. Faun. p. 93. Forked 

 Hake, Penn. Brit. Zool. vol. in. p. 193. pi. 31. no. 82. Id. (Edit. 

 1812.) vol. in. p. 259. pi. 35. Greater forked Beard, Couch in 

 Linn. Trans, vol. xiv. p. 75. Merlus barbu, Cuv. Reg. An. 

 torn. ii. p. 335. 



