2558 Bulletin 4.7, United States National Museum. 



Ones, Risso, Hist. Eur. Merid., in, 214, 1826 (mustella = mediterraneut) . 

 Mvstela, STARK, Elem. Nat. Hist., 1, 425, 1828 (after leg Musteles). 

 Motella, CuviER, Regne Aiiim. Ed. 2, vol. II, 334, 1829 (vulgaris tricirratus). 

 Onus, GiiNTHER, corrected spelling. 



Body rather elongate, covered with minute scales ; head not compressed, 

 the upper jaw the longer; snout with 2 conspicuous barbels, the chin 

 with 1; teeth on jaws and vomer in bands, palatines toothless; dorsals 2, 

 the anterior of a single long ray followed by a series of short fringe-like 

 rays concealed in a groove; second dorsal and anal long, similar to each 

 other; caudal rounded or lanceolate; ventral rays 5 to 7. Small fishes 

 of the northern seas, descending to deep water. We here regard the 

 5-bearded Rocklings (Ciliata, Couch, 1832) Concilia, Thompson, 1856 = 

 Molvella, Kaup, 1858, as a distinct genus, distinguished by thS 5 barbels at 

 the tip of the snout, (yaidpaifidpa, a modern Greek name used by 

 Rondelet for a species of this group.) 



The name yaidpotydpov is now applied in Athens to the Pollack-like 

 fish, Micromesistius poutassou (Risso). 



According to Prof. Horace A. Hoffman "the name yaidovpoipdpov is 

 modern, meaning donkey fish. rai"dovpoc;=yd3apog=asti, donkey. 

 The ancients called a certain fish uvoc,, ass. Dorio, in Athenreus, vn, 99, 

 says some persons call the ovo$ (i. e., the fish oro?) yddo$. Epicharmus, 

 in his Marriage of Hebe, says: 'Wide-gaping ^dvvai and monstrous- 

 bellied ovoi: (See Aristotle 599b 33, 601a 1, 620b 29, frag. 307, 1530a.) 

 According to Aristotle the oro$ has a mouth opening wide (literally, 

 breaking back), like the ya\oi. It leads a solitary life, is the only fish 

 which has its heart in its belly, has stones in its brain like millstones in 

 form, and is the only fish which lies torpid in the warmest days under the 

 reign of the dog star, Sirius, the other fishes going into this torpid state 

 in the wintriest days. The oro$, pdroc,, -tfnjrra, and pirij bury them- 

 selves in the sand, and after they make themselves invisible they wave the 

 things in their mouths which fishermen call little rods or little wands 

 (papdia). (Hoffman & Jordan, Fishes of Athens, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. 

 Phila.1887, 146.) 



a. First ray of first dorsal long, as long as head; head small, 5f in length; teeth 

 rather feeble, uniform. 1X59; A. 45; P. 25. Color uniform brick red. 



ENSIS, 2933. 

 aa. First ray of first dorsal short, about as long as snout. 



b. Pectoral rays 22 to 24; upper jaw without cirri or rudimentary barbels along 



the premaxillary ; maxillary reaching posterior border of eye: head 5J in 



length. D. 56; A. 45. Color reddish. ABGENTATUS, 2934. 



bb. Pectoral rays 16; upper jaw with short cirri or barbels along the premaxillary; 



maxillary reaching far beyond eye. D. 50 ; A. 42. Head 4 in length. Color 



brownish. SEPTENTBIONALIS, 2935. 



2933. GAIDROPSARUS ENSIS (Reinhardt). 



Head 5f; depth 4f D. 59; A. 44 to 46; P. 22 to 27; V. 8. Body unusu- 

 ally deep, being greatest at the vent; head small; eye rather large, 

 nearly as long as snout, equaling interorbital area, and in anterior half of 

 head; posterior margin of orbit nearly equidistant between tip of snout 

 and posterior margin of operculum. Mouth normal; supramaxillary end- 



