52 



Part III. — Twenty -eighth Annual Report 



On top of the head there is a single large lure, remarkable both from its 

 size and also from its complexity. The stout stem is hinged at its base, in 

 a depression in the frontal region, between the eyes. It terminates distally 

 in a bladder-like expansion from which wave two pairs of filaments, viz., a 

 very short pair and a long pair. A third pair of filaments is attached to the 

 base of the bladder portion, and below that point come off two more pairs of 

 filaments. All the filaments taper, and the middle pair (or one at least of 

 them) consisted of two branches. The stem and its five pairs of filaments 

 are covered with little membranous scutes which have rounded apices. The 

 following are the lengths of the filaments : — Second pair, 15 and 17*5 cm. ; 

 third pair, one side, two branches, common portion, 6*2 cm.; long branch, 

 16 cm. ; short branch, 5'8 cm. ; fourth pair, one side, 14*2 cm.; fifth pair, 

 one side, 4 cm. 



The second marked feature about the fish is the presence of large 

 membranous scutes on the skin. The scutes vary in size, but they are all of 

 one general form (fig. 28). They resemble very closely the shell of the 

 limpet (Patella vulgata), and may be not inaptly termed Patella-scutes. As 

 will be seen from the drawings, they are well scattered over the body, some 

 being found on the pectoral fin. They are present in great number on the 

 ventral surface. The scutes have whitish apices, which are stiff, and in 

 many cases fairly sharp. Some scutes w r ere noticed which had twin apices. 

 The scutes are arranged over the body in a rough but not perfect symmetry. 



The eyes are small ; they are lateral in position and stand protruding on 

 little stalks (fig. 22). In Lophius the eyes are sunk flush in an orbit, as in 

 the majority of fishes. 



The mouth is superior. The lower jaw is very deep. There is only one 

 distinct row of mixed teeth in the upper and lower jaws, the larger teeth 

 being on the inner, and the smaller on the outer side. The upper pharyngeal 

 teeth are large, and the rosettes of teeth on the four gill-arches are prominent. 

 There are no lower pharyngeals, and no palatine nor vomerine teeth. 



There is a single dorsal fin ; it has five fin-rays, and it is placed far back. 

 There are no intervening rays between the lure and the dorsal fin. The 

 last ray of this fin is united by web to the beginning of the caudal fin. The 

 number of rays in the caudal fin is nine. A small anal fin, of apparently 

 five rays, is present. It occupies a position opposite the dorsal fin. There 

 are no pelvic fins. The pectoral fins are small, and they are quite different 

 from those fins in Lophius piscatorius. In the latter the pectoral fin is thick 

 and fleshy ; it is broader distally than at its origin. It has, moreover, the 

 tips of the first seven rays turned over on to the underside of the fin. The 

 number of fin-rays is 26. In the present fish the number of rays was 16 on 

 the left and 16 (117) on the right side. The rays were all soft and 

 membranous. In Lophius the pectoral fin practically acts as an operculum. 

 In Himantolophus Reinhardtii the pectoral fin is superior to the gill-opening. 



The fish might be suitably compared to a small black stone on which a 

 number of Patella (sp.) are fastened, and from the summit of which waves 

 a stem of Fucus. 



Liitken,* who first described this Angler, gave it the name Himantolophus 

 Reinhardtii. Gill proposed to remove it to a new genus, Oorynolophus. 

 There does not appear to be any necessity for such a change. The fish 

 might, I think, have been put originally into the genus Lophius. It is a 

 typical Angler, and the points in which it differs from Lophius would 

 constitute a good specific description. 



The specimens described by Liitkenf differed in the number of filaments 

 attached to the lure (viz., from 6-9), and also in the extent to which the 



* K. D. Vidensk, Selskab. Skriften, Nat. og. Math. XL, 5. 1878. 



t Liitken, Chr. — "Til Kundskab om to artiske Shegter af Dybhavs-Tudsefiske, 

 Himantolophus og Ceratias (Himantolophus rheinhardti). [Avec un resume en 

 Francais.] 2 plates. Vidensk. SelsJc. Skr. 5 Raekke. Naturvidensk. og Math. 

 Afd. xi. 5. Copenhagen, 1878, and lb. Aid. iv. 5, Copenhagen, 1887. 



