taken off the coast of Nortliumherland. 5 



tion of the gill-covers. The above bones are exceedingly de- 

 licate and fragile, and present the radiating lines of development 

 with great prominence ; the silvery skin covering them is remark- 

 able for its delicacy. 



The branchiostegal rays are seven in number ; the uppermost 

 a broadish plate marked by radiating lines, the rest diminishing' 

 successively in size having the ordinary characters of such rays. 



The four branchial arches diminish in size backwards, and the 

 pharyngeal is less than the fourth branchial arch. The rays of 

 the convexities of the branchial arches are very numerous ; the 

 concavities of these arches are beset with prominent blunt- 

 pointed tubercles which are studded with a number of short setae 

 or bristles, sharp-pointed but rather soft, which project inwards 

 towards the pharyngeal cavity. The first branchial arch has in 

 addition a row of short pale-coloured rays or plates, the inner 

 edges of which are also furnished with setai which project likewise 

 inwards. On the roof of the pharynx are two or three pairs of 

 short laminae (pharyngo-branchial) furnished with similar setse, 

 pointed backwards and downwards in the direction of the 

 entrance to the oesophagus. 



The dorsal fin extends from immediately behind the upper and 

 posterior end of the curved frontal profile to within 3 inches of 

 the tail of the fish. The anterior part of the fin, more prominent 

 than the rest, is composed of twelve rays, which were stated by 

 the captors to have been 12 or 14 inches in length when the fish 

 was taken, and to be each furnished with a membranous expan- 

 sion on its posterior edge, increasing in width upwards something 

 like a peacock^ s feather. 



The first ray is a pretty strong spine arising just within the 

 frontal curve, the three next are very slender, and much closer 

 together than the rest, and when we first saw the fish, united for 

 4 or 5 inches (their length at that time) by a membrane ; the 

 next is equally slender with the preceding, but rather farther 

 apart ; the three or four after this are nearly as strong as the 

 first, the rest diminish in strength and length, and become uni- 

 form with the rays of the dorsal fin. 



It is difficult for us to say whether the twelve front rays con- 

 stituted a detached crest or formed merely the anterior continu- 

 ation of the dorsal fin, though after careful and repeated exami- 

 nations we found shreds of membrane in each interval between 

 them, and their bases also were connected w ith a continuous mem- 

 brane. In the interval between the twelfth and thirteenth rays the 

 remains of a membrane were found connecting the bases of these 

 rays, and their shafts were ragged and woolly-looking, as if a 

 membrane had been torn off from them. We are therefore in- 

 clined to conclude that the crest was really a continuation of the 



