100 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



Body compressed, greatest thickness being contained about If times in 

 its height, which is about * of tlie length of the head. Dorsal outline of body 

 rises very slightly from the head to the beginning of the first dorsal, and is 

 continued as a straight line from behind the first dorsal to the extremity of 

 the tail. The ventral outline of the body is parallel to the dorsal for a 

 distance about equal to the length of the head, and then trends upwards to 

 form the long and compressed tail. 



Scales (PL VII, fig. 1) with the exposed portion densely covered with fine 

 slender backward-directed spinules, giving a velvety appearance to the body. 

 Seven to niue scales in a transverse series between the lateral line and firet 

 dorsal fin, and about twenty between the lateral line and the vent. 



First dorsal rays II + 8-iO. The first spinous ray is minute and covered 

 by skin ; the second is elongate and has its front edge armed with numerous 

 small close-set serrations. Pectoral rays 19, ventral 7-8, the £rst ventral 

 ray being produced into an elongate filament. 



Colour brownish on the back, dull silvery grey on the sides and belly. 

 Gill membrane and mouth black. Fins dark grey or black. 



The dimensions of two large Irish specimens have already been published 

 (Holt and Calderwood, 189.5). These may be supplemented by ihe following 

 measurements taken from a medium and a small specimen. It wUl be noticed 

 that the size of the eye is proportionately greater in the smaller specimens. 

 The increase of the proportional height of the body with ^e, which is 

 characteristic of some species of Macrurids, does not occur in this species. 





cm. 



cm. 





cm. 



cm. 



Total length, ... 



49-5 ^ X 



280 + X • 



Greatest height of 







Length of head, 



So 



5-2 



head. 



6-7 



40 



Length of snout. 



1-6 



1-4 



Greatest width of 







Length of prae- 







head. 



4-3 



2-7 



maxilla. 



3-3 



1-9 



Inter-orbital, ... 



31 



2-1 



Length of barbel. 



■5 



■1 



Isthmus to vent. 



6-2 



29 



Eve, -vertical diam. 



, 2.8 



1-4 j 



Tip of snout to first 





Eye, horizontal 







dorsal. 



9-2 



5-6 



diam., 



2-6 



1-7 



Tip of snout to 







Greatest height of 







vent. 



121 



.. 6-7 



body, 



70 



4-2 



Eye to hind edge of 











operculum. 



4-0 



2-5 



General Distribution. — Piouud the north of the Xorth Atlantic on the 

 upper continental slope, extending southwards to 37° i^. on the American 

 side, and to the Bay of Biscay (44° 39' X.) on the European. It has been 

 taken at depths of from 85 fathoms off Newfoundland {HiroTuMle) and 164 

 fathoms in the Skagerack (J/. Sars), to 1245 fathoms off Iceland {Ingolf) and 

 900 fathoms on the east coast of the Pnited States {Alhatross). 



