346 Ichthyology of the Firth of Forth. 
per margin of the two former shaded with white. The head is 
large and wide, a little more than one-third the length of the body, 
with the crown of it remarkably flattened and depressed ; the an- 
terior part of the body is round and tumid, while the hinder part is 
much compressed. On each jaw are a number of small sharp teeth, 
with a few long ones projecting beyond the rest, particularly on the 
lower jaw, and on the front of the upper ; the anterior part of the 
roof of the mouth is also furnished with teeth set close together, and 
arranged in a lateral direction. At the commencement of the oeso- 
phagus are four cartilaginous prominences covered with a number of 
very small sharp teeth, rendering each rough to the touch. The 
tongue is broad, smooth, and destitute of teeth. The under jaw is 
the shorter, and furnished with a small conical barbule, placed on 
its anterior and under surface, which is scarcely perceptible except 
when the iish is in a recent state. Each eye is situated a little in 
advance of the angle of the mouth, and is of a pale yellow colour. 
Immediately over the base of the pectorals, the first dorsal fin com- 
mences, which is very small and easily overlooked, composed of 
three rays, of which the middle is the longest, being about half the 
length of the pectoral rays. The second dorsal fin commences in a 
vertical line over the middle of the pectorals, and runs down the back 
to within a very short distance of the tail. The anal fin begins in 
a line under the termination of the pectoral rays, and ends at a point 
not quite so far as that at which the dorsal terminates. The ven- 
tral fins arise under the throat, and the two first rays, which are the 
longest, and of a bluish-white colour, extend a little beyond the ori- 
gin of the anal fin. The remainder of the rays are about one-third 
of the length of the two former, and of a dull black appearance. The 
caudal and pectoral fins are nearly of equal size and form, slightly 
rounded at the extremity ; the latter is of a sooty black colour, with 
a broad light-coloured band running across the middle. The scales, 
which are small and very adherent, are scarcely perceptible when 
fresh. The air-bladder is large, with the coats thick and strong. The 
numbers of the fin-rays are, 
1st D. 3; 2d D. 67 ; C. 20; A. 57 ; P. 17 ; V. 6. 
The lateral line commences over the pectoral fin, and after running in a 
straight course halfway down the sides, takes a sudden bend, thence 
continues straight to the tail. The resophagus is short and wide; the 
stomach is of an oval form, and the intestines are entirely destitute of 
cosca. In this last respect the tadpole fish is an exception in the family 
Gadidtf, where the ccecal appendages are numerous, so as to form one 
of the principal characters of that family ; and it is evident that 
Cuvier had not been acquainted with its anatomical structure, for 
