330 General Notes. 
Tue VOGMAR OR VAAGM#R (TRACHYPTERUS ARCTICUS) AND 
THE KING OF THE HERRINGS (GYMNETRUS BANKSIIL.)—Dr. Lüt 
ken has recently published some valuable additions to our knowl- 
edge of these two deep sea fishes, based upon material that has 
accumulated in the museum of Copenhagen. a 
Thirteen examples, varying from 830 to 2200 (about 2 t9 
in. to 7 ft. 4 in.), of the former fish gave sufficient material toena: 
ble Dr, Lütken to decide that, spite of great variations in the pt 
portional length of the head, height of the body, size of the ee 
profile of head, number of rays in dorsal and caudal, position at 
the lateral line, and position of the anus, which exceptionally isin : 
advance of the middle of the length, there is but one valid species 
of Trachypterus in the northern seas. z 
After the study of this northern form, the author unhesitatingiy 
declares his conviction that all the “ speciés” described from thè 
Mediterranean belong also to one species ( 7. iris) which can, how 
ever, be distinguished from T, arcticus by its longer 
gradually tapering tail and less elevated body. Rudiments of vet 
tral fins, consisting of a broken prismatic exterior ray and 
of five other rays, were found in two examples; and the smallest 
of the series had distinct remnants of the five separate anterior 
dorsal rays, which in ail the others were broken down to st 
hidden beneath the skin. Dr. Lütken believes that this los0 
the nuchal and ventral fins is natural rather than accidental, es% 
cially as the dorsal fin itself is usually well preserved. ee! 
ber of dorsal rays varies from 154 to 186 (without then 
rays), they are rough in the young, but in adults smoot, © 
for the basal spine. The length of the fin-rays generally 18 8" 
in the young, and the spines of the lateral line, the : 
fourteen of which are large and sharp, are in the young ©” 
to the origin of the lateral line. 
The King of the Herrings is a much rarer fish, so rare hs 
thirty are on record from the coasts of Norway and England T 
140 years. The Copenhagen museum possesses an exami e h 
feet long from the Faroe islands. This was muc 
other examples of fishes of this genus, Dr. Lütken con op 
the former is but an unusually large state of R. bani 1 of 
latter is at best an uncertain Species, During the 8 : 
