2288 Bulletin 4.7, United States National Museum. 



844. BATHYMASTER, Cope. 



Bailiymatter, COPE, Proc. Amer. Phil. Soc. 1873, 31 (signatus). 



Head naked; pores of head large, many of them with dermal flaps; gill 

 membranes scarcely connected ; scales of lateral line similar to the others ; 

 dorsal fin with but 3 or 4 of its anterior rays imbranched; characters 

 otherwise included above. (fiaQv$, deep; ua6Tr^p, searcher.) 



2626. BATHYMASTER SIGNATUS, Cope. 



Head 3 ; depth 5. D. 47 ; A. 34 ; scales 6-95-19 ; eye 4$ in head ; maxillary 

 2; snout 4; pectoral If; ventral 2; highest dorsal ray 2f ; highest anal 

 ray 3|; caudal 2|. Body compressed, elongate, anterior profile convex 

 from tip of snout to dorsal; mouth not very oblique, the maxillary reach- 

 ing the vertical from posterior edge of orbit; snout about equal to eye; 

 jaws equal, with bands of small conical teeth, outer row enlarged; lower 

 jaw with a single row at the sides; well developed conical teeth onvouier 

 and palatines. Branchiostegal membranes not united; margin of preo- 

 percle free, furnished with 5 or 6 conspicuous mucous pores; large pores 

 on top and sides of head, each with a small flap ; opercle ending in a flap 

 behind; gill rakers moderately long and slender,! eye, about 7 + 18; 

 many mucous pores on top of head and under eye; head entirely naked; 

 dorsal and pectoral with fine scales running about halfway up the fin ; 

 anal naked; a naked strip from nape to dorsal; pectoral broad and fan- 

 shaped, its lower rays smaller, reaching to front of anal ; origin of ventral 

 spine about the diameter in front of the lower end of pectoral base ; dorsal 

 about uniform in height for nearly its entire length, higher than anal; 

 dorsal and anal rays about reaching to base of caudal rays; first 3 or 4 

 rays of dorsal simple, the others branched; caudal truncate or slightly 

 rounded. Color almost uniform warm brown with darker shades, the fins 

 somewhat mottled with yellowish, the anal and ventrals blackish, other 

 fins dusky; a conspicuous black ocellated blotch on front of dorsal, 

 covering tips of 4 or 5 spines.* Shores of southern Alaska, from Unimak 



* Concerning this species, Dr. Gilbert has the following note: " Bathymaster signatug 

 is taken very abundantly in our series of shallow-water dredgings along the southern 

 shore of the Alaskan Peninsula, and northward through Uniraak Pass. The stations at 

 which it was obtained are numbered 3211, 3212, 3213, 3214, 3215, 3217, 3220, 3222, and 3223, 

 and the depth range from 34 to 56 fathoms. In addition, a very few small specimens were 

 secured at Stations 3262, 3309, 3221 and 3333, north of the Aleutian Islands, in depths of 19 

 to 71 fathoms, but the species is evidently not abundant in Bering Sea. No examples were 

 taken in any of the very numerous dredgings made in Bristol Bay. In life the sides are 

 olive brown, and the upper parts show faint traces of 6 or 7 broad dusky cross bars, which 

 correspond to or alternate with an equal number below the lateral line ; the anal and 

 ventral fins, the branchiostegal and gular membranes, the lower pectoral rays, and the 

 snout blue black ; anterior edge of orbit and front edge of preorbital light yellow ; the 

 pores on edge of preopercle, 2 pores above and behind maxillary, and 3 at upper edge of 

 opercle, bright scarlet; a large black blotch on anterior dorsal rays; distal half of 

 anterior portion of dorsal fin and the upper pectoral rays yellow. Outer ventral ray 

 simple and inarticulate, followed by 5 branched rays. Only the first 2 dorsal rays spin- 

 ous, being soft and flexible, but unjointed. The third and all following rays jointed 

 and forked. All of the anal rays jointed. A specimen from Albatross Station 3211, 35 

 mm. in length to base of caudal, shows that the ventrals occupy very different positions in 

 adults and in young. In the latter they are truly thoracic in position, and are inserted 

 as much behind base of pectorals as they are located in advance of this point in adults. 

 A specimen 65 mm. long is entirely similar to adults in this respect." 



