450 
SCANDINAVIAN FISHES. 
obliquely set, being turned upwards at an angle of 
about forty-five degrees. The teeth are small, pointed, 
and set in a fairly dense card on the front of the lower 
jaw — beyond the tip of the snout when the mouth is 
closed — and on the intermaxillary bones. Each of 
these cards narrows posteriorly into two rows and fi- 
nally into one single row. On the head of the vomer 
the teeth are quite as strong, but fewer, sometimes only 
3 — 6. The inner transverse folds (vela) differ in de- 
velopment in different individuals, but are sometimes 
fairly broad both in the upper jaw and the lower. The 
nostrils are of the same form as in the preceding genus, 
the anterior round, the posterior oblong and set longi- 
tudinally. A small process-like flap is set at the front 
margin of the anterior nostril, which is marked in this 
species by an extraordinarily large, foliate, rounded 
flap behind. The position of the nostrils is also es- 
sentially the same as in Bothus , though they lie farther 
out on the snout, on the eye side at about its middle; 
on the blind side the anterior nostril lies vertically 
below the first ray of the dorsal fin. 
Here, too, the anterior rays of the dorsal fin have 
a broad, membranous margin, but are pointed at the 
tip and not so deeply branched as in the Brill, the 
two lateral halves, in the first ray at least, being 
separated within the obliquely transverse, membranous 
flap. At least the first four rays may be free from 
each other for the greater part of their length and 
united by the fin-membrane only at the base. Most 
of the other rays, except the last 40, are simple or only 
indistinctly branched. The posterior rays, with the ex- 
ception of the last two or three, are multifid at the 
tip. The posterior ends of the dorsal and anal fins pass 
over to the blind side, though without forming any 
distinct lobes there and with the distance between them 
equal to 80 % of the least depth of the long peduncle 
of the tail. In the anal fin the structure of the dorsal 
fin is repeated, only that most of the rays are distinctly 
branched and multifid at the tip. The distance between 
the anal fin and the tip of the snout, in old specimens, 
measures about 36 % of the length of the body. The 
distance between this fin, as well as the dorsal, and 
the middle of the base of the caudal fin is almost equal 
to the length of the maxillary bones. The convex hind 
margin of the caudal fin forms a broad obtuse angle 
at the middle. The ventral fins resemble those of the 
preceding genus in their relative position to each other 
and to the beginning of the anal fin ; but they are less 
unlike each other in the length of the base. In younger 
specimens they do not overlap the beginning of the 
anal fin, but in older ones they extend along the sides 
thereof. On account of the elongated form of the body 
their relative size is less, the length of the base of the 
left ventral fin being in old specimens about 7 V 2 % of 
the length of the body, of the right ventral fin about 
6V 2 % thereof: the height of each of them is about 
4V 2 % of the length of the body. The pectoral fins 
are distinguished from those of the preceding genus 
by their greater dissimilarity. The pectoral fin of the 
eye side is of an oblique and rounded, truncate form, 
the 4th — 6th rays being the longest, the 3rd only 
slightly shorter than they, and the 2nd only 7c shorter 
than the 3rd; the length of the 1st ray is only 1 / c or 
V 5 of that of the 2nd. The first and second rays are 
simple, the first also un articulated, but the other 9 or 
10 are multifid, with the exception of the last ray, 
which is bifid. The pectoral fin of the blind side is 
of a pointed, oval form, the 6th ray being the longest, 
the 1st half as long as the 2nd, which is about equal 
in length to the last, the 9th or 10th. The first ray 
of this fin is also simple and unarticulated, the second 
and sometimes the third articulated, but simple, the 
others, except the last, bifid. This fin is furnished with 
thicker skin, but much shorter than the pectoral fin of 
the eye side, the relative length of both fins diminish- 
ing slightly with age, and that of the former measur- 
ing about 67 2 or 6 % of the length of the body, that 
of the latter about 12 % thereof. The length of the 
latter fin is also only slightly less than that of the head 
behind the lower eye. 
The scales are thin, but well-imbricated and rather 
firmly attached. Those of the blind side are smooth- 
margined, those of the eye side densely ciliated on the 
little patch behind the nucleus, which is surrounded by 
dense and fine, circular striae, with eccentric extensions 
in a forward direction, while numerous grooves radiate 
forward from the same point. The whole body, except 
the snout, is covered with scales. The intermaxillary 
bones and the greater part (sometimes the whole) of 
the lower jaw are naked, but on the hind part of the 
latter, just in front of the articulation, Ave sometimes 
find a feAv small scales. The greater (loAver) part of 
the maxillary bone of the eye side, Avhich is slightly 
dilated downwards, is also covered with scales. On 
the blind side the jaw-bones are naked, as Avell as an 
oblong longitudinal patch behind the nostrils. All the 
