taken off the coast of Northumberland. 3 



elongated pyramidal outline with the base rounded, PL I. fig. 4, 

 which are formed of fine clear crystalline-looking filaments, 

 arranged side by side and radiating from the apex to the base 

 of the scale ; these filaments grow much finer towards the base, 

 where a number of minute granules are also observed. The 

 scales remind one of some of those seen on the wings of moths. 

 The bulk of the silvery matter of the skin, however, is made up of a 

 soft matter finely granular, and presenting numerous transparent 

 fragments of what have the aspect of acicular crystalline bodies. 

 We have not been able to detect the mode of arrangement of the 

 scale-like bodies on the skin. Round the posterior margin of the 

 preoperculum is a broadish dusky mark on the skin, and near 

 the top of the head above the eye a crescentic mark of a dark 

 iridescent blue colour ; besides these there are on the side of the 

 body several narrow, dusky black, slightly waved lines consider- 

 ably apart from each other and obliquely inclined from before 

 backwards ; of these eight or nine are above the lateral line and 

 of unequal length ; below the same line they are more numerous, 

 diminishing in size on the whole till they end in mere spots at 

 some distance behind the anus. The lower series seems to cor- 

 respond in some measure to the upper. Interspersed among the 

 lines are a few irregular spots of the same hue towards the head. 

 The dorsal and ventral ridges are also dusky. The lateral line 

 was at first smooth and very distinct, but after the fish had been 

 a few days in Goadby's fluid, elongated flat scales became appa- 

 rent on the line ; it can be traced from the back part of the head 

 above and behind the eye, sweeping down gradually to within 

 3^ in. of the ventral margin at 18 in. from the snout ; at the anus 

 it is 2 in. from the margin ; it thence runs backwards, still ap- 

 proaching the margin, to the caudal extremity. 



Four longitudinal flattened ridges, each rather more than 1 in. 

 broad, extend from the head to the tail immediately above the 

 lateral line, which cuts them off very obliquely in front ; the up- 

 permost, which is the longest, running forwards almost to the eye. 



The surface of the skin of the body is studded with very nu- 

 merous distinct and separate tubercles of bone ; the smallest and 

 most depressed lie between the ridges and towards the ventral 

 and dorsal margins, the largest and most elevated upon the ridges, 

 some of these last being y 1 ^ in. in diameter. On the ventral 

 ridge are numerous, irregular, and prominent tubercles slightly 

 hooked backwards. The tubercles present .no regular arrange- 

 ment, they are imbedded in the skin, and it is difficult to say 

 whether or not they had been covered by the silvery matter of 

 the skin ; when we examined them, their apices were uncovered 

 by it. Some were observed to have a perforation at the apex 

 which was occupied by a soft papilla. The tubercles are replaced 



1* 



