THE ANGLER FAMILY. 151 



and others have noticed that " considering the wonderful 

 number of eggs they deposit, but the comparatively few young 

 that are seen, they must be subject to some wholesale de- 

 struction as fry, or else when in the ova state." The masses 

 are sometimes caught by the ropes and nets of the salmon- 

 stake nets off the East Rocks at St Andrews. 



The ova sent to the St Andrews Laboratory were ex- 

 amined and described by Prof. Prince, and the larval forms 

 up to fifteen days after hatching were followed. The very 

 early stages of development have yet to be described, the eggs 

 noted above containing embryos at an advanced stage (Plate I, 

 figs. 11 and 12). The young embryos differ very much from 

 the type of pelagic embryos found among the Gadoids and 

 Pleuronectids. They are short and stunted with a stout obtuse 

 head, and a 'dagger-shaped tail only partially encircling the 

 yolk.' The blunt outline of the head is caused by the enor- 

 mous optic lobes of the brain. The whole character of the 

 larva recalls the ' robust embryos of Teleosteans with demersal 

 eggs and a rich perivitelline circulation.' There is a great 

 aggregation of black pigment, mainly covering the brain and 

 spinal cord and the intestinal region of the trunk. 



Fig. 3, Plate VI, represents the appearance of the newly- 

 hatched larva. In it we can note the characters above indi- 

 cated and also the peculiar rounded yolk-sac with a conspicuous 

 oil-globule situated at the posterior end. This globule is 

 covered with a mass of protoplasm in which are a number of 

 large black pigment-spots. Another feature of the larval frog- 

 fish not so well seen except in sections, is a very abundant 

 development of serous spaces just under the skin. 



By the fifth day after hatching (Plate VI, fig. 4) the yolk- 

 sac is considerably reduced, and the head stands out more 

 clearly from it : the body is more elongated and the first dorsal 

 spine commences to appear. The ventral fins are very con- 

 spicuous as rod-like bodies of immense length, the pectorals 

 being also present but small. The flattening of the larva 

 dorso-ventrally is not yet very evident. During the next few 

 days the first two free dorsal rays become very prominent as 

 elongated filaments above the head, the third being smaller. 



