74 Sigurd Johnsen. | 
indicate that none of the former have yet been spent; the total 
would then be abt. 70 eggs for both ovaries. From the 
fact that the ovaries present the same appearance in June 
as in August, viz. few large eggs surrounded by many quite 
small ones without any of intermediate sizes, it may be 
concluded that the spawning does not take place in repetition 
with successive ripening of the smaller eggs. As before 
mentioned (p. 67), I think this feature must be looked upon 
as a secondary adaptation in connection with special 
arrangements giving a high percentage of fertilized eggs. 
The original number of eggs is reduced, the size of each 
egg thus being increased. 
Habits. R. regina is considered to be one of the bottom- 
inhabitants of the cold area of the Norwegian Sea as specimens 
have been caught only during trawling operations at depths be- 
tween 1200 and 2300 metres. I do not think it improbable, 
however, that the real home of the species is th: cold intermediate 
layers of that sea. The fragility of its body tends to corroborate 
this. Further the type-specimen, got by trawl from 1230 fths., 
was alive when it came onboard (COLLETT 1880) and my speci- 
men b, mentioned above, from trawling at 1738 metres is without 
the least injury. When taking into consideration the fragility of 
the species, the two last-named facts point to the specimens having 
been caught in intermediate waterlayers during the hauling in of 
the trawl. The examination of the food has not given any safe 
clue as to the real home of the species. COLLETT (1905b p. 
147) has found one Calanus hyperboreus and one Hymenodora 
glacialis in the ventricle of two of his specimens. The last-named 
crustacean was caught by the “Arm. Hansen” at stat. 2, 1914, in 
nets being towed 400, 700 and 1400 metres above the bottom 
Which was 1990 metres. On the other hand Hym. glacialis has 
also been found in the ventricle of true bottom fishes as Raja 
hyperborea and Lycodes frigidus. 
Systematic position. Rhodichthys regina was by COL- 
LETT (1878, 1880) referred to the fam. Ophidiidae as he assumed 
that the ventrals were connected with the hyoid-bones; this view 
the author still maintains in his work from 1905. BOULENGER 
(1904) places the genus in the fam. Zoarcidae, the iong ventral 
filaments being held as true, jugular fins. In the text-fig. 7 (p. 
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