COTTOIDE.E. 51 



spinous, and garnished with many shreds of skin ; and the first dorsal is so deeply 

 notched, that three dorsals have been reckoned by some. Only one species is known. 

 It attains the length of two feet, and inhabits the cod-banks on the coast of New 

 York, Nova Scotia, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where it is often taken by the 

 hooks set for cod-fish. Its skin is soft and finely granular, with little conical 

 tubercles scattered over the back and sides. The flanks have a bright carmine 

 tint, at least in certain localities, as at the Magdalene Islands. 



Fins.— Br. 6; D. 15—12; A. 14; C. 12; P. 18; V. 1/3. (Hist des Poiss.) 



[24.] 1. Hemilepidotus trachurus. The Hiekejak. 



Family, Cottoideae. Genus, Hemilepidotus, Cuvier. 



'•' Cottus trachurus. Pall., Zoogr. Ross., t. 3, p. 138, pi. 25." 



This is another genus intermediate between Cottus and Scorpcena ; but which 

 has, on the whole, more affinity to the latter. In the form of the head, and in the 

 distribution of its spines, there is a resemblance to the Cotti ; but in the solitary 

 dorsal, and the teeth on the palate bones, as well as on the vomer, it partakes of 

 the characters of the Scorpcence : it is distinguished at once from both genera by 

 two broad longitudinal scaly stripes on each side alternating Avith stripes of smooth 

 skin : the scales become visible as the skin dries. Captain Billings obtained one 

 specimen among the Kourile Islands, and another on the American coast, where 

 the species was observed also by Steller, who says that the inhabitants of the 

 Aleutian Islands name it hiekejak. Pallas described Billings' specimen, and 

 Cuvier states the description to agree exactly with his H. Tilesii, except that it 

 gives two rays more to the soft dorsal, and that a division is mentioned between 

 the first three spines of that fin and the eight succeeding ones. The rays of 

 C. Tilesii are Br. 6; D. 11/18; A. 1/14; C. 12; P. 17; V. 1/3. Steller 

 gives the following anatomical details of those he examined. The liver had three 

 lobes and many biliary ducts, but no gall-bladder was detected. The stomach of 

 an individual, a foot long, was no bigger than an acorn, and it contained a small 

 flounder, some crabs, and a madrepore. There were five pretty long ccsca at the 

 pylorus. (Hist, des Poiss.) 



h 2 



