360 The Angler. 



different shape from what it subsequently assumes ; and that in 

 this state it has been regarded even as a distinct species, under 

 the name of lophius eurypterus ; but a remarkable portion of 

 the history of this species is the scarceness of this young con- 

 dition as compared with the commonness of full-grown examples, 

 and its prolific character. Mr. Thompson weighed the roe in 

 an angler which measured four feet and a half in length, and 

 found the bulk enclosed in the membrane to amount to one 

 pound and thirteen ounces ; from which, with due allowance for 

 the superfluous materials, he concluded the number of grains 

 to amount to almost a million and a half. 



This fish is not thought of for table with us ; but Jonston 

 quotes an unknown author, Alexandrides, for the fact that it 

 was produced at a feast given by Cotys, King of Thrace ; and, 

 according to Antiphonis, the belly was particularly esteemed. 

 Willoughby says that when boiled the flesh is white, and in 

 taste like a frog ; to which we may add that, according to Bisso, 

 a fish which he calls genelli, and which he considers as a variety 

 of the angler, is a delicious dish, as has also been reported by 

 a private individual of our own angler. 



A large example of this species may measure in length 

 between five and six feet, but the specimen described measured 

 three feet, and its breadth across the widest expansion of the 

 pectoral fins, about twenty-two inches. The head broad and 

 rounded, forming a large proportion of the bulk; the body 

 tapering behind the pectoral fins, and more compressed towards 

 the tail. Head studded with bony tubercles, six in number, 

 with a depression from the symphysis of the upper jaw upward 

 between the rows, in which the processes of the maxillary bone 

 are received. The lower jaw projects, and is capable of great 

 protrusion ; breadth of the mouth in this example ten inches, 

 with two or three rows of long, sharp teeth, the innermost row 

 generally the stoutest and longest, especially in the lower jaw, 

 and each tooth through much of its length encased in its own 

 membranous covering ; in front of the palate also are rows of 

 strong teeth, and the same in the floor of the mouth in the 

 place of tongue. Eyes high on the head separate, with a depres- 

 sion between them ; vision towards the sides. Round the body 

 from head to tail a series of membranous processes, flat and 

 lobulated, but of some variety in shape ; the longest round the 

 head. Skin smooth, loose, and slimy. Strong tubercles be- 

 hind the eyes ; the head covered with numerous irregular lines, 

 from which proceeds a tenacious slime. Two short soft pro- 

 cesses, already referred to, above the upper jaw ; between them 

 a slender upright filament, its interior structure bony, and which 

 is joined to the bony substance of the head in some cases by a 

 ring joint ; in others, a portion of the ring is formed of soft 



