Jordan and Evcrman n . Fishes of North *A merica . 2053 



A. cataphractuSj present on jaws. First dorsal, with 6 or 7 plates between 

 it and occiput, with 5 to 7, usually 5 or 6, spines, its length considerably 

 more than its height ; third and fourth rays longest ; second dorsal distant 

 from first about the length of either tin, with 5 to 8, usually 6 or 7, rays, 

 a little shorter but somewhat higher than iirst dorsal ; anal fin with nearly ^ 

 its length in front of first ray of second dorsal and ending a little behind 

 t he middle of the latter is somewhat higher than this and with 6 to 8, usually 

 7, iays; pectoral fin, about as long as head, with 14 to 16, usually 14 or 

 15, simple rays; ventral fin short, a little more than of pectoral, rays 

 3 (1,2), the 2 soft rays of about equal length; caudal narrow and long, 

 about 8 in total length, with 9 long rays, and on each side 2 or 3 short 

 ones. Lateral line, pores 23 to 25 (Collett), 30 (Kroyer). Color yellowish 

 gray, with 2 or 3 large grayish brown patches forming indefinite cross 

 bands, first above base of pectorals, second under posterior part of first 

 dorsal, and third under middle of second dorsal; between these smaller 

 indefinite patches and cloudings; fins, especially pectorals and caudal, 

 brownish black toward their tips; ventral surface grayish yellow; on 

 each side of head a quite broad black baud from tip of snout across orbit 

 and preopercle. Males rarer than females (Collett), distinguished by hav- 

 ing outer soft ray of ventral fin about twice as long as inner, more than \ 

 of pectorals. Young (according to Steenstrup and Lutkeii) with a shorter 

 and thicker body, its breadth about 7 in total length, tail compressed. 

 Head broader and anteriorly blunter, with somewhat oblique mouth and 

 lower jaw projecting beyond upper. Keels of plates strongly developed, 

 with sharp backwardly directed spines; longitudinal keels on upper 

 and under side of tail distinctly double. Pectoral and ventral fins pro- 

 portionately longer. Vent lies farther back, between fifth or even eighth 

 pair of ventral plates. Arctic Ocean, south to Newfoundland and Nor- 

 way ; recorded from northern coast of Norway, east and west of North 

 Cape, but not south of 70 N. lat., Spitzbergen and west of these islands, 

 between them and Beeren Island, and between this and Norway (Collett) ; 

 Faroe Islands and Iceland (Lutkeii); Greenland, spreading as far south 

 as Newfoundland with the cold ocean currents. Dr. Reinhardt has 

 shown that the fish described as Coitus catapliractus from Greenland by 

 Fabricius belongs to this species, and that Bloch's statement that the type 

 of the species came from the East Indies is erroneous. It is a deep-water 

 species, found in 123 to 260 fathoms, at a temperature of + 1.6 C. to 1.1 

 C. (Nordhavs expedition) ; 50 to 120 fathoms, in the Varangerfiord. Here 

 described from papers of Collett and Lutken, and from small specimens 

 from Upernavik. (Eu.) (dexa, ten; yoovia, angle.) 



Coitus cataphractus, FABRICIUS, Fauna Grcenl., 155, 1780, Greenland ; not of LINNAEUS. 



Agonus decagonus, BLOCK & SCHNEIDER, Syst. Ichth., I, 105, pi. 27, 1801, erroneously 

 recorded from the East Indies, the type came from Greenland; GUNTHER, Cat., n, 

 215, 1860 ; COLLETT, Norges Fiske, 40, 1875 ; LUTKEN, Forelob. Meddel. Nord. Ulkefiske ; 

 Vidensk. Meddel. fra den Naturhist. Foren. Kjob., 381, 1876 ; COLLETT, Fiske fra Nord- 

 havs Expeditionens, Sommeren 1878, Christ. Vidensk. Selsk. s. Forh., No. 14, p. 28, 

 1878 ; COLLETT, Norske Nordhavs Expedition, 1876-1878, Zool. Fiske, 44, pi. 2, figs. 11- 

 12, 1880; JORDAN, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1883, 293; LILLJEBORG, Sveriges och 

 Norges Fiskar, Forsta Haftet, 193, 1883-84. 



