GR EN A DIER-FI S H K S . 
583 
first dorsal (10) and the ventral fins (9) and by the form of the 
adhesive ventral disk. The specimen would thus seem to belong to 
a species that also occurs within the limits of the Scandinavian fauna. 
But Gunther" has described a Mediterranean fish 'that in another publi- 
cation by Giglioli'-'' had been named Macrurus ( Hymenocephalus , 
Mystaconurus ) italicus, and to this species, which is distinguished 
from Macrurus Icevis by small, villiform teeth in the lower as well 
as in the upper jaw and by larger (fewer) scales, our larva may be 
more properly referred. The most interesting points in this larva, 
however, are the tadpole-like form of the body, a form which is per- 
sistent in Macrurus crassieeps, the short snout with the mouth set 
in the position normal among the Anacanthini , the shafted pectoral 
fins, a trace of the oldest period of the piscine type — though con- 
siderably altered by the broad form of the pectoral disks — , the 
evanescent adhesive disk on the belly, and the long appendages to 
the rays of the ventral fins and to the tip of the tail. These ap- 
pendages certainly play their part in assisting the larva to support 
itself in the water; but probably serve also to give it a protective 
resemblance to the stinging Medusa; c . 
Some of the members of this family have long- 
been known, at least since the times of Strom d and 
Fabricius 6 ; but the great wealth of forms that represent 
it in the abysses of the ocean, have first been discovered 
and described in recent times by Gunther 7 and Vail- 
lant 6 ', Brown-Goode and Bean 7 '. According to the first- 
mentioned writer the family contains at least 46 spe- 
cies, which he distributes among 4 genera. Only one 
of these genera is represented in the Scandinavian fauna. 
Genus MACRURUS. 
First branchial arch united above and below on the outside by a membrane to the inside of the opercular appa- 
ratus , leaving a foramen at the middle which is much smaller than the other gill-slits , of which even the last is 
complete. Gill-rakers on the first branchial arch tubercular. Branchiostegal membranes united to each other. Chin 
furnished with a barbel. Dorsal fins well-separated from each other. 
Within this genus, which received the name it now- 
bears of Bloch', Gunther, the most eminent among 
those writers who have revised the arrangement of the 
genus, in his last treatment of the question has united 
several genera which he formerly regarded as distinct, 
but which he has now reduced to the rank of sub- 
genera. “The dredge of the Challenger,” he writes 7 , 
“secured more than one hundred and forty examples, 
referable to thirty species, and proved that this type 
of fishes is not only one of the most widely spread in 
the depths of all oceans, but also extremely abundant 
with regard to species and individuals. These materials 
afforded the further evidence that the characters on 
which I had relied for the generic groups of Macrurus , 
Coryphcenoides, and Mcdacocephalus, did not possess 
the taxonomic value assigned to them, with the ex- 
ception of the modifications of the dentition, which, 
however, were capable of more precise definition. 
“With regard to the form of the snout arid posi- 
tion of the mouth, there exists every gradation, from 
the most specialized types, such as Macrurus japonicus 
and Macrurus parallelus , to Macrurus longifilis, which 
may be regarded as representing the original type 
whence the others were derived. Its head is com- 
pressed, well proportioned, formed by firm bones, the 
superficial of which enclose a muciferous system not 
more enlarged than we find it in many surface fishes; 
its snout is not more tumid or projecting than in the 
majority of surface Gadoids, and the wide mouth ter- 
minal and lateral. As the muciferous cavities increase 
in width, the bones are expanded into thin lamellte 
and lose in firmness, those of the infraorbital ring cover 
more or less the side of the head, extend backwards 
to the angle of the praeoperculum, and push the latter 
backwards. The snout k becomes the receptacle of large 
or even enormously enlarged cavities, supported by 
a Deep Sea Fish , Challeng. Exped., p. 140. 
b Giglioli e Issel, Pelagos, p. 228, c. fig. (without description) — cited from Gunther, 1. c. To this publication we have not had access. 
c Cf. above, p. 312, note b. 
d Sondmors Beskrivelse (1762), vol. I, p. 267. 
e Fauna Groenlandica (1780). 
f Deep Sea Fishes , Chall. Exped. 
g Exped. Scicnt. du Travailleur et du Talisman , Poissons. 
h Report on the Fishes, Dredg. 1880 U. S. Survey Steamer “Blake”, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., Harv. Coll., vol. X, No. 5. 
1 Naturg. Ausl. Fiscli., Tli. 2, p. 150; from ya/pog, long and olyci tail. The oldest generic name is Coryphcenoides (Gunnerus, 
1765), but was formed contrary to current rules and suggested for one of the Scandinavian species “until it please the great naturalist 
Linnaeus to give the species its proper name.” 
j Deep Sea Fish., Chall. Exped., p. 122. 
k Chiefly by the extension of the nasal bones, as Reinhardt has already remarked. 
Scandinavian Fishes. 
74 
