in ichthyology, a genus of fishes of the order of apodes. There is but one species of this genus, viz. the anarrhicas lupus, or sea-wolf; which seems to be confined to the northern parts of the globe. We find it in the seas of Greenland; in those of Iceland and Norway; on the coasts of Scotland and of Anarhichas Yorkshire; and lastly, in that part of the German ocean which washes the shores of Holland, the most southerly of its haunts that we can with any certainty mention.

It is a most ravenous and fierce fish, and, when taken, falls on anything within its reach: the fishermen dreading its bite, endeavour as soon as possible to beat out its fore-teeth, and then kill it by striking it behind the head. Schonevelde relates, that its bite is so hard, that it will seize on an anchor, and leave the marks of its teeth in it; and the Danish and German names of fleenbinder and fleinboiter, express the sense of its great strength, as if it was capable of crushing even stones with its jaws.

It feeds almost entirely on crustaceous animals and shell-fish, such as crabs, lobsters, prawns, mussels, cocklops, large whelks, &c. these it grinds to pieces with its teeth, and swallows with the lesser shells. It does not appear they are dissolved in the stomach, but are voided with the feces; for which purpose the aperture of the anus is wider than in other fish of the same size.

It is full of roe in February, March, and April, and spawns in May and June.

This fish has so disagreeable and horrid an appearance, that nobody at Scarborough except the fishermen will eat it, and they prefer it to haddock. They always before dressing take off the head and skin.

The sea-wolf grows to a large size: those on the Yorkshire coast are sometimes found of the length of four feet; according to Dr Gronovius, they have been taken near Shetland seven feet long, and even more.

The head is a little flattened on the top; the nose blunt; the nostrils are very small; the eyes small, and placed near the end of the nose.

The teeth are very remarkable, and finely adapted to its way of life. The fore-teeth are strong, conical, diverging a little from each other, stand far out of the jaws, and are commonly fix above and the same below, though sometimes there are only five in each jaw: these are supported within-side by a row of lesser teeth, which makes the number in the upper jaw 17 or 18, in the lower 11 or 12. The sides of the under jaw are convex inwards, which greatly adds to their strength, and at the same time allows room for the large muscles with which the head of this fish is furnished. The dentes molares, or grinding teeth of the under jaw, are higher on the outer than the inner edges, which inclines their surfaces inward: they join to the canine teeth in that jaw, but in the upper are separate from them. In the centre are two rows of flat strong teeth, fixed on an oblong basis upon the bones of the palate and nose.

The teeth of the anarrhicas are often found fossil; and in that state called bufomites, or toad-stones: these were formerly much esteemed for their imaginary virtues, and were set in gold, and worn as rings.

The two bones that form the under jaw are united before by a loose cartilage; which mechanism admitting of a motion from side to side, most evidently contributes to the design of the whole, viz. a facility of breaking, grinding, and comminuting, its terebraceous and crustaceous food. At the entrance of the gullet, above and below, are two echinated bones: these are ANA

The body is long, and a little compressed sidewise; the skin smooth and slippery: it wants the lateral line. The pectoral fins consist of 18 rays. The dorsal fin extends from the hind-part of the head almost to the tail; the rays in the fresh fish are not visible. The anal fin extends as far as the dorsal fin. The tail is round at its end, and consists of 13 rays. The sides, back, and fins, are of a livid lead colour; the two first marked downwards with irregular obscure dusky lines; these in different fish have different appearances. The young are of a greenish cast, resembling the sea-wrack, amongst which they reside for some time after their birth.