1978 Bulletin 47, United States National Museum. 



spine. Occipital crests long, gently converging behind, suddenly diverging 

 near their posterior ends. Distance from supraorbital to occipital tubercle 

 H times the distance between the 2 supraorbital tubercles (the 2 measure- 

 ments about equal in M. polyaoanthooephalus) ; 2 or 3 low digitate ridges 

 behind supraocular spine; a sharp ethmoidal ridge extends backward 

 from level of small spines to above front of pupil; mouth very large, the 

 maxillary extending to posterior border of eye ; the pore always present 

 behind last gill arch; spinous dorsal low, the interval between dorsals 

 unusually long; fins moderate; pectoral barely reaching anal; ventrals 

 not to vent. Color olive grayish, mottled with darker, paler than in 

 related species; back with 4 dark cross bands, made up of blackish spots; 

 lower side of head and belly plain white; membrane of upper jaw 

 unspotted; fins, all except the ventrals, with oblique dark bars, fainter 

 than in most species. In the adult, the dark cross bands break up 

 into sharply defined black spots, with vermiculating blotches and lines 

 which closely cover the back. Length 12 to 18 inches. Bering Sea, in 

 shallow water; everywhere common on both coasts, extending into the 

 Arctic and south to the Amur River and Unalaska. Our specimens from 

 Unalaska, Bristol Bay, Petropaulski, Robben Reef, Port Clarence, and 

 Grautley Harbor ; one of the most characteristic fishes of Bering Sea. 

 (jaok, the vernacular name in Kamchatka.) 



Cottus jaok* CUVIEB & VALENCIENNES, Hist. !Nat. Poiss., iv, 172, 1829, Kamchatka (Coll. 



Pallas; specimen in Mus. Berl. called Cottus scorpius by PALLAS) ; GUNTHER, Cat., n. 



165, I860; JORDAN & GILBERT, Synopsis, 705, 1883. 

 Myoxocephalus jaok, JORDAN & GILBERT,! Kept. Fur Seal Invest. 1898. 



* Oottusjao k is thus described: "D VII, 15; A. 14. M. Lichen stein has kindly confided 

 to us the individual which served Pallas for the description of the great Cottus of Kam- 

 chatka, which he believed the same species as our scorpius. We have compared it care- 

 fully with our individuals from Europe and we have found that it has, in fact, several 

 characters, notably, that the spines of its preopercle are similarly disposed and of the 

 same proportions, but its differences are many. Instead of tubercles it has behind the 

 eye, behind the cranium, and on the temple^ some light granulations. Along its back, 

 above the lateral line, is a row of scales quite unlike those of scorpius. They are round, 

 a little concave ; their surface is rough, and their edge surrounded with small slender 

 points, but above the lateral line there are some like those of scorpius. The first dorsal 

 is lower, shorter, and I have been able to find but 7 rays. Pallas counted but 6. Its size 

 is much greater than that of the Sculpins in Europe. The individual before us is 21 

 inches long. Pallas mentions them of 2 feet. He thus gives the coloration: Back red- 

 dish, with scattered brown spots, small, irregular, disappearing by degrees below the 

 lateral line; belly white; 5 brown, irregular transverse bands on the pectoral ; spinous 

 dorsal spotted with brown ; soft dorsal with 4 vertical brown bauds ; caudal with 3; 3 

 bands on the anal. The fish is very active in life. Pallas was told that it would live for 

 2 days out of water ; even after being eviscerated and being in the smoke to dry, it would 

 wave for several hours. It is called by the Kamtschadales Jaok; by the Koriakes, Ilaal; 

 by the Kouriles, SusiatM and Keischag ( ?) . The Russians of Kamchatka call it Ramscha, 

 and the Lamutes, Takfchi. (Cuvier & Valenciennes.) " 



t Concerning the synonymy of this species, Jordan & Gilbert observe: In a report on 

 the ichthyological collections of the A Ibatross in Alaska (Report U. S. Commissioner of 



must be identical. The type of jaok was a large dried specimen, the same which had 



served 1 alias for his account of Cottus scorpius. In such a dried specimen it would be 



very difficult to enumerate correctly the low feeble spines, of which the first 2 are very 



closely approximated, and the last 1 often minute and hidden in the membrane. Humilis 



is abundant along the coast of Kamchatka and agrees with the account of jaok in having 



the upper parts covered with small brown spots, the back with a series of round spinous 



plates, and the sides below the lateral line with posteriorly directed spines ; it also agrees 



aching a very large size. In the description of jaok the fin formula, except the 



ot dorsal spines, is that most frequently found in humilis. Specimens are before 



