68 
EINAR LÖNNBERG, 
(Schwed. Südpolar- Exp. 
io. Bathylagus gracilis n. sp. 
I specimen from a depth of 2,800 m. 4th Febr. 1902, 63° 24' S. lat. 45° 40' W. long, 
i » » » » » 2,700 m. 27th June 1902, 49° 56' S. lat. 49° 56' W. long, 
both caught in an open net. 
D. 9 — 10. A. 19. Squ. 41 (?) in a longitudinal row, 5 in a vertical between 
the beginning of dorsal and ventral. 
Body long and slender. Length of head contained 4— 4V2 times in total length 
without caudal. Greatest depth of body about 7 times in total length. Least depth 
of body not much more than twice in greatest depth. Beginning of dorsal nearer 
to snout than to base of caudal fin. Diameter of eye equal to half the length of 
head. Snout short, not quite half as long as the diameter of eye. Interorbital 
space very narrow and deeply concave. Mouth small, posterior end of the maxil- 
lary not quite on a level with the lower margin of eye. 
The dimensions of the two specimens are: 
Total length 
Length of head 
Greatest depth of body 
Least depth of body 
Distance from snout -to dorsal fin . . 
» -■ adipose » . . 
> » ventral » . . 
» s » anal » . . 
Diameter of eye 
Length of snout 
Interorbital width 
60 
82 
mm. 
15 
18 
» 
8,5 
12 
» 
4 
5 
28 
37 
» 
5 2 
68 
» 
29 
39 
» 
43 
57 
7 >3 
9 
» 
3-5 
4,5 
» 
i 
2 
> 
The larger specimen is labelled as having been, when just caught, “greyish 
brown, with the belly bright bluish green. Paired fins hyaline, dorsal, anal and 
caudal fins somewhat brownish”. The smaller specimen is labelled “dark brown”. 
In general appearance this species is more slender than the two species which are 
figured in “Oceanic Ichthyology” and the contour of the forehead and snout are 
somewhat longer than that of the chin. B. antarcticus GTHR is described from 
the Antarctic Ocean '* but is readily distinguished from this species by having a 
greater number of anal rays, 22 instead of 19, a broader interorbital space being 
two thirds as wide as eye and flat, and a deeper body about which it is said, that 
it is only “rather less than the length of the head”. These differences cannot be 
due to different size and age as the Challenger specimen is said to be 4 1 /» inches 
* Challenger Rep. Vol. XXII p. 220 — 221 & Ann. Mag. Nat. Elist. 187S Vol 2. 
