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Independent Commissions and Contentious Issues in Post-Good Friday Agreement Northern Ireland 1st Edition Dawn Walsh (Auth.)
Independent Commissions and Contentious Issues in Post-Good Friday Agreement Northern Ireland 1st Edition Dawn Walsh (Auth.)
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Rethinking Peace and Conflict
Studies
Series Editor
Oliver P. Richmond
University of Manchester
Manchester
United Kingdom
This agenda-setting series of research monographs, now more than a
decade old, provides an interdisciplinary forum aimed at advancing inno-
vative new agendas for approaches to, and understandings of, peace and
conflict studies and International Relations. Many of the critical volumes
the series has so far hosted have contributed to new avenues of analysis
directly or indirectly related to the search for positive, emancipatory, and
hybrid forms of peace. New perspectives on peacemaking in practice and
in theory, their implications for the international peace architecture, and
different conflict-affected regions around the world, remain crucial. This
series’ contributions offers both theoretical and empirical insights into
many of the world’s most intractable conflicts and any subsequent
attempts to build a new and more sustainable peace, responsive to the
needs and norms of those who are its subjects.
Independent
Commissions
and Contentious
Issues in Post-Good
Friday Agreement
Northern Ireland
Dawn Walsh
The Institute for International
Conflict Resolution and Reconstruction
Dublin City University
Dublin, Ireland
vii
CONTENTS
ix
x CONTENTS
Conclusion 177
Factors (Mediator Identity, Issue Intensity, Terms
of Reference, Good Friday Agreement) 178
Mediation in an International Context 186
Note 191
References 191
Index 233
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
xiii
LIST OF TABLES
xv
Introduction: Contentious Issues
and the Implementation of the Good Friday
Agreement
The role of third parties and external actors in efforts to resolve the conflict
in Northern Ireland was one of its most notable aspects. Their involve-
ment has been cited by many as being central to the relative success of the
peace process and the negotiation of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA).1
There has been considerable examination of the role of these third parties
in the build-up to the 1998 GFA (see e.g. MacGinty 1997; McGarry and
O’Leary 2006). There has also been a small amount of work on the role of
the USA in post-agreement Northern Ireland (see e.g. Clancy 2010;
Marsden 2006). Yet this literature does not directly address the role played
by a number of key independent commissions, some with a strong inter-
national component, that were charged with managing some of the most
contentious issues of the peace process. This volume addresses this missing
dimension. Independent commissions were key players in post-agreement
Northern Ireland. Though some issues continue to be problematic, in
many cases the involvement of independent commissions led to the suc-
cessful resolution of problems which were critical stumbling blocks to the
implementation and operation of the GFA.
The signing of the GFA on the 10th of April 1998 was heralded as an
historic day for Northern Ireland. After centuries of violent conflict, the
most recent incarnation of which had lasted over thirty years and resulted
in the deaths of over three thousand people, there was broad consensus on
the way forward for the region. The endorsing of the GFA in popular
case at hand. The second type of mediation used in this type was formula-
tive mediation, as conceptualised by Touval and Zartman (1985) and
referred to by Beardsley et al. (2006). The third and final type of mediation
employed was directive mediation. This type, which was drawn from
Bercovitch and Houston’s typology (2000), also incorporated the use of
power or leverage by the mediator – as included in manipulative mediation
by Zartman and Touval (1985).
Facilitative-procedural mediation involves a low level of intervention. If
facilitative-procedural mediation was present, the following would be
observed: mediators providing information to the parties in the hope it
assists in resolving the conflict. They will also control procedural elements
of the mediation, such as the agenda and the access of parties to media or
other actors. Information will be channelled between parties (Bercovitch
and Houston 2000). In facilitative-procedural mediations mediators will
seek to reduce tensions by clarifying or restating positions of the parties in
less confrontational or aggressive ways. The mediator will also highlight
any common areas of agreement between the parties. The mediator may
have private meetings with different parties immediately before direct talks
are held. The mediator will draft the agenda and decide which issues will be
discussed and how long to spend on various issues. The mediator will also
control when the discussions take place and will often provide the location.
This control over the physical mediation setting will also extend to
control of the distribution of information from the meetings. The med-
iator will control the flow of information from the meetings to different
parties. This will include the ability to restrict the media access to those
involved in the talks and thus limit the amount and type of information
INTRODUCTION: CONTENTIOUS ISSUES AND THE IMPLEMENTATION . . . 7
being made public. The mediator will either directly control this by issuing
the press releases or by overseeing the release of information to the media
by the parties themselves. The mediator will control the access which those
involved in the talks have to their constituents outside the talks. They will
limit the ability of those inside the talks to receive information from their
constituents or to provide their constituents with information regarding
the progression of the talks (Bercovitch and Houston 2000). In facilita-
tive-procedural mediation the mediator will not make substantive sugges-
tions or exert leverage. The mediator would not make recommendations
regarding compromises or make promises, or threats, regarding the impli-
cations of non-agreement.
Formulative mediation involves mediators making substantial proposals
or recommendations regarding the content of the compromises that may
be made. Formulative mediators will proactively outline the shape com-
promises may take. While these proposals may be adapted during discus-
sions, they are offered as a framework which can shape agreement. By
providing this framework, formulative mediators will take responsibility
for concessions. As such, they are accountable for proposals and the form
they take. In the case of formulative mediation, proposals will not be
perceived as originating with one of the conflict parties. The mediator
may stress their authorship of the proposals; this may make the proposals
more acceptable to all conflicting parties than if they originate from an
opposing party in the conflict.
Under directive mediation mediators will also make substantive propo-
sals. In addition to this they will pressure conflicting parties to compro-
mise, offering incentives/making promises in return for compromises,
highlighting the costs of non-agreement/progression and verifying com-
pliance. A chief determinant of directive mediation is the leverage which
the third party employs. This leverage may be the result of the mediator
being in possession of certain material resources. The mediator may be
observed offering access to these resources as a reward for compromise or
reaching agreement and threatening to block access to the same as a
punishment for non-agreement or progression of the process.
Leverage can also be observed as the result of non-material power.
Mediators may have leverage resulting from their reputation or exper-
tise in relation to particular policy areas. Individuals, organisations, or
states that are viewed as being leaders in the development of interna-
tional norms within particular policy areas possess leverage to have such
policies incorporated into implemented peace agreements. If this form
8 INDEPENDENT COMMISSIONS AND CONTENTIOUS ISSUES . . .
that mediators should not simply use one type of mediation but should
adapt the type of mediation they use at different points in a conflict or
crisis (Wilkenfeld et al. 2003). There are two contradictory ways in which
the post-agreement implementation context may affect mediation type. It
can be argued that at this stage of a conflict any third party mediator
should only be involved in low-level intervention. The conflicting parties
must be given the space to take ownership of their new situation.
Conversely, it can also be argued that the implementation stage is marked
by high levels of vulnerability on the part of the conflicting parties and that
an approach towards mediation that is highly interventionist can use third
parties to help overcome such vulnerability (Walter 1999).
Mediation Success
Different mediation types have different effects on efforts to resolve
conflict. Understanding the relative success rates of the different types
of mediation highlights the importance of this book. If one type of
mediation was found to be more successful it would be desirable,
where possible, to manipulate the factors to allow for this type of media-
tion. There is no agreement among scholars as to which type of media-
tion is most successful. Advocates of less interventionist forms of
mediation argue that conflict parties should find their own solution and
that such a solution is more likely to last (Nathan 1999). Other scholars
argue that the application of leverage or pressure associated with directive
mediation will be more effective. As Wallensteen and Svensson (2014)
noted Touval has long contended that powerful actors are more the more
effective mediators.
This disagreement is somewhat explained by differing understandings
or definitions of success. Beardsley et al. demonstrate that more interven-
tionist types of mediation are more effective at securing formal peace
agreements while less interventionist types are better placed at long-term
tension reduction (Beardsley et al. 2006). It is also important to consider
the nature of the conflict when assessing what type of mediation will be
most successful. For example, Moller et al. argue that facilitative and
formulative mediation are more useful in secessionist wars (Moller et al.
2011), while Bercovitch and Gartner argue that the depth of mediation
intervention will be more effective if it matches the intensity of the con-
flict, that is, higher intensity conflicts demand more interventionist forms
of mediation (Bercovitch and Gartner 2006).
12 INDEPENDENT COMMISSIONS AND CONTENTIOUS ISSUES . . .
Its significance has generally been highlighted in two separate but related ways.
Firstly, the membership of both Britain and Ireland contributed to enhanced
cooperation between the governments and reduced the significance of the
border. This position was one that was particularly favoured by the constitu-
tional nationalist party, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). It
saw the logic of Europeanisation represented by the UK and Ireland joining
the EU in 1973 as key to dissolving the importance of the border and felt this
could allow politicians involved in trying to end the conflict work together
within an informal European framework (albeit with limited success)
(Ramsbotham et al. 1999). Accompanying the reduced significance of the
border and reinforcing this idea is the issue of EU financial support.
The support of the Irish economy south of the border by EU funds
assisted Ireland in the creation of the positive economic conditions that
were commonly referred to as the ‘Celtic Tiger’. This prosperity was accom-
panied by a wider but related process of social liberalisation. This undermined
but did not alter unionist objections to joining a ‘backward papist state’
(Ramsbotham et al. 1999:178). The EU also provided funds that sought to
redress the underdevelopment of particular areas on a regional rather than a
national basis. This arrangement arguably weakened the importance of state
borders. However, the EU had no significant political role. As Doyle argued,
‘there was no direct involvement by either the European Commission or the
Council of Ministers. No other member state ever sought to raise the
Northern Ireland conflict or had any strategic desire to’ and European
reports on the issue such as the 1984 Haagerup report did not lead to
proactive European engagement in conflict resolution (Doyle 2012:7).
The involvement of the USA was undoubtedly the most prominent inter-
national element of the Northern Ireland peace process. Albert Reynolds
commented that the ‘much vaunted greening of the White House cannot be
underestimated in its effect on the trajectory of the Northern Ireland Peace
Process’. He further developed this US-International dimension by outlining
President Clinton’s personal attachment to the (British) Isles. And impor-
tantly, by indicating that the wider global context allowed for US involvement
in a way that would not have been previously possible given post-WWI
American isolationism and that ‘Nixon had other things on his mind’
(Reynolds 1999:1–13).
The election of Bill Clinton as President of the USA led to an unprece-
dented level of US interest and involvement in Northern Ireland.4 The
granting of an entry visa for the USA to Gerry Adams in 1994 marked a
move in control of policy on Northern Ireland away from the Anglophile
14 INDEPENDENT COMMISSIONS AND CONTENTIOUS ISSUES . . .
The particular history and politics of the Northern Ireland conflict and
peace process, including the abovementioned internalisation, were impor-
tant for operation of the independent commissions. The factors which
affect mediation type (mediator identity, issue intensity, and conflict con-
text) must be understood as a way which captures how they operate in this
particular context.
INTRODUCTION: CONTENTIOUS ISSUES AND THE IMPLEMENTATION . . . 15
Mediator Identity
This book examines how each of the five commissions operated as a team.
Böhmelt focused on composite mediation, outlining both the advantages
and potential difficulties which this presents. Composite mediators can
pool resources and provide political balance. This increases the mediator’s
ability to exert leverage making it easier to engage in directive mediation
(Böhmelt 2012). The five commissions in this book drew members from
various states which afforded them varying levels of leverage. Different
members also had different individual levels of status due to, for example,
expertise or professional experience. To provide a nuanced understanding
of how the identity of a mediator affected mediation type this book
considers the group nature and origins of the commissions and the back-
ground personal status of the individual members.
Issue Intensity
The delegation of issues to the commissions was as a result of the intensity of
disagreement surrounding them. In most cases the substantive policies or
reforms that were needed in these areas could not be agreed. Even in cases
where the substance was largely agreed, certain actors needed to distance
themselves from what was agreed for political reasons. Thus the commis-
sions were charged with the administration of the changes or reforms.
However, the intensity of feeling around each specific issue was not
uniform. Some actors felt more strongly about a particular issue. In some
cases the disagreement over an issue can be viewed as one community
seeking action and the other resisting. For example the nationalist com-
munity seeking policing reform while the unionist community resisted.
The intensity of feeling around a particular issue can also vary over time.
Certain domestic or international events heightened the intensity of feel-
ing about particular issues. Both the robbery of the Northern Bank and
the murder of Robert McCartney in Belfast were issues which greatly
heightened the intensity of issues surrounding the paramilitary ceasefires,
particularly that of the IRA.5 While the monitoring of paramilitary cease-
fires was an issue around which there was a low level of intensity during
periods when the ceasefires appeared to be holding, incidents such as those
mentioned above led to higher levels of issue intensity.
The variation of the intensity of feeling from different actors and across
different time periods indicates that this concept must be considered in a
16 INDEPENDENT COMMISSIONS AND CONTENTIOUS ISSUES . . .
guided the peace process and informed the GFA in particular are now
discussed.
The GFA represented a continued internationalisation of conflict reso-
lution both in terms of its content and its process. By recognising the
principle of consent in law, it moves away from the absoluteness of British
sovereignty in the region and codifies the right of the people of Northern
Ireland to either unify with the Irish state or remain part of UK. This was
done within the context of an international agreement, as the GFA was
endorsed by two separate states and thus enjoyed the legal status of an
international agreement. Furthermore, it included the creation of a num-
ber of bodies that work across international borders to allow coordination
on policies and issues not only between the two parts of the island of
Ireland but also from east to west between Ireland and the nations that
make up the UK.
This external dimension, the role of the Republic of Ireland in the
affairs of Northern Ireland and the East-West relationship between the
peoples of the two islands, were dealt with innovatively. This dimension is
described as ‘external’ not as any form of judgement as to the rightful
constitutional position of Northern Ireland but simply to recognise that
these elements cross state borders. The North-South Ministerial Council
(NSMC) and the British-Irish Council (BIC) provide a cohesive frame-
work for the recognition and incorporation of the international in post-
conflict Northern Ireland. This may have led to the inclusion of the
international members of the commissions.
The internal institutions which the GFA established were structured
in accordance with principles of power-sharing. Power-sharing within
the executive is governed by the use of the d’Hondt formula. It allocates
seats within the executive to parties without the need for the parties to
reach an agreement on their allocation and a programme for govern-
ment, thus facilitating power-sharing in an atmosphere where trust is
low. The legislative function of the Assembly is also based on power-
sharing. Within the Assembly members choose to classify themselves as
‘nationalist’, ‘unionist’, or ‘other’. This identification exists to facilitate
minority veto on important issues. These are either predetermined by the
GFA, or are designated as such via a ‘petition of concern’ moved by 30
Assembly members. While a full discussion of these elements is outside
the remit of this book, these power-sharing elements may have influ-
enced the selection of commission members to ensure cross-community
representation.
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Fig. 293.—Coregonus oxyrhynchus.
Sixteenth Family—Percopsidæ.
Body covered with ctenoid scales; head naked. Margin of the
upper jaw formed by the intermaxillaries only; opercular apparatus
complete. Barbels none. Gill-openings wide. Adipose fin present.
One genus and species only (Percopsis guttatus); interesting as
having the general characters of Salmonoids, but the mouth and
scales of a Percoid. Freshwaters of the northern United States.
Seventeenth Family—Haplochitonidæ.
Body naked or scaly (cycloid). Margin of the upper jaw formed by
the intermaxillary; opercular apparatus complete. Barbels none. Gill-
opening wide; pseudobranchiæ. Air-bladder simple. Adipose fin
present. Ovaries laminated; the eggs fall into the cavity of the
abdomen, there being no oviduct. Pyloric appendages none.
Eighteenth Family—Gonorhynchidæ.
Head and body entirely covered with spiny scales; mouth with
barbels. Margin of the upper jaw formed by the intermaxillary, which,
although short, is continued downwards as a thick lip, situated in
front of the maxillary. Adipose fin none; the dorsal fin is opposite to
the ventrals, and short, like the anal. Stomach simple, without blind
sac; pyloric appendages in small number. Pseudobranchiæ; air-
bladder absent. Gill-openings narrow.
Fig. 298.—Scale of
Gonorhynchus greyi.
One genus and species only (Gonorhynchus greyi) is known; it is
a semi-pelagic fish, not very rare off the Cape of Good Hope, and in
the Australian and Japanese seas. From 12 to 18 inches long. The
colonists in New Zealand name it “Sand-eel,” as it frequents bays
with sandy bottom. It is eaten.
Nineteenth Family—Hyodontidæ.
Body covered with cycloid scales; head naked; barbels none.
Margin of the upper jaw formed by the intermaxillaries mesially, and
by the maxillaries laterally, the latter being articulated to the end of
the former. Opercular apparatus complete. Adipose fin none; the
dorsal fin belongs to the caudal portion of the vertebral column.
Stomach horseshoe-shaped, without blind sac; intestine short; one
pyloric appendage. Pseudobranchiæ none; air-bladder simple. Gill-
openings wide. The ova fall into the abdominal cavity before
exclusion.
One genus and species only (Hyodon tergisus) is known,
generally called “Moon-eye.” It is abundant in the western streams
and great lakes of North America. From 12 to 18 inches long.
Twentieth Family—Pantodontidæ.
Body covered with large cycloid scales; sides of the head
osseous. Margin of the upper jaw formed by the single intermaxillary
mesially, and by the maxillaries laterally. The dorsal fin belongs to
the caudal portion of the vertebral column, is short, opposite and
similar to the anal. Gill-openings wide; gill-covers consisting of a
præoperculum and operculum only. Branchiostegals numerous.
Pseudobranchiæ none; air-bladder simple. Stomach without coecal
sac; one pyloric appendage. Sexual organs with a duct.
A small freshwater-fish (Pantodon buchholzi), singularly alike to a
Cyprinodont, from the west coast of Africa.
Twenty-first Family—Osteoglossidæ.
Body covered with large hard scales, composed of pieces like
mosaic. Head scaleless; its integuments nearly entirely replaced by
bone; lateral line composed of wide openings of the mucus-duct.
Margin of the upper jaw formed by the intermaxillaries mesially, and
by the maxillaries laterally. The dorsal fin belongs to the caudal
portion of the vertebral column, is opposite and very similar to the
anal fin; both approximate to the rounded caudal (with which they
are abnormally confluent). Gill-openings wide; pseudobranchiæ
none; air-bladder simple or cellular. Stomach without coecal sac;
pyloric appendages two.
Large freshwater-fishes of the tropics, whose singular
geographical distribution has been noticed above (p. 223).
Osteoglossum.—Cleft of the mouth very wide, oblique, with the
lower jaw prominent. A pair of barbels at the lower jaw. Abdomen
trenchant. Bands of rasp-like teeth on the vomer, palatine and
pterygoid bones, on the tongue and hyoid. Pectoral fins elongate.
O. bicirrhosum from Brazil and Guyana, O. formosum from
Borneo and Sumatra, O. leichardti from Queensland.
Arapaima.—Cleft of the mouth wide, with the lower jaw prominent;
barbels none. Abdomen rounded. Jaws with an outer series of small
conical teeth; broad bands of rasp-like teeth on the vomer, palatines,
pterygoids, sphenoid, os linguale, and hyoid. Pectoral fins of moderate
length.
Twenty-Second Family—Clupeidæ.
Body covered with scales; head naked; barbels none. Abdomen
frequently compressed into a serrated edge. Margin of the upper jaw
formed by the intermaxillaries mesially, and by the maxillaries
laterally; maxillaries composed of at least three movable pieces.
Opercular apparatus complete. Adipose fin none. Dorsal not
elongate; anal sometimes very long. Stomach with a blind sac;
pyloric appendages numerous. Gill-apparatus much developed, the
gill-openings being generally very wide. Pseudobranchiæ generally
present. Air-bladder more or less simple.
The family of “Herrings” is probably unsurpassed by any other in
the number of individuals, although others comprise a much greater
variety of species. The Herrings are principally coast-fishes, or, at
least, do not go far from the shore; none belong to the deep-sea
fauna; scarcely any have pelagic habits, but many enter or live in
fresh waters communicating with the sea. They are spread over all
the temperate and tropical zones. Fossil remains of Herrings are
numerous, but the pertinence of some of the genera to this family is
open to serious doubts, as the remains are too fragmentary to allow
of determining whether they belong to Salmonoids or Clupeoids.
Therefore, Agassiz comprised both families in one—Halecidæ. Many
of the remains belong to recent genera, which are readily
recognised, as Clupea, Engraulis and Chanos, principally from the
schists of Glaris and Licata, from Monte Bolca and the Lebanon.
Others, like Thrissopater, from the Gault at Folkestone, Leptosomus,
Opisthopteryx, Spaniodon, from the chalk and tertiary formations,
can be readily associated with recent genera. But the majority do not
show an apparent affinity to the present fauna. Thus, Halec from the
chalk of Bohemia, Platinx and Coelogaster from Monte Bolca,
Rhinellus from Monte Bolca and Mount Lebanon, Scombroclupea,
with finlets behind the anal, from the Lebanon and Comen, and
Crossognathus from tertiary Swiss formations, allied to Megalops,
Spathodactylus from the same locality, and Chirocentrites from
Mount Lebanon, etc. Finally, a genus recently discovered in tertiary
formations of Northern Italy, Hemitrichas, has been classed with the
Clupeoids, from which, however, it differs by having two short dorsal
fins, so that it must be considered, without doubt, to be the
representative of a distinct family.
Engraulis (including Cetengraulis).—Scales large or of
moderate size. Snout more or less conical, projecting beyond the
lower jaw. Teeth small or rudimentary. Intermaxillaries very small,
hidden; maxillary long, attached to the cheek by a scarcely distensible
membrane. Anal fin of moderate or great length. Branchiostegals
short, from nine to fourteen in number.
Not less than forty-three different species of “Anchovies” are
known from temperate and tropical seas. They exhibit marked
differences in the length of their maxillary bone, which sometimes
does not reach the gill-opening, whilst in other species it extends far
beyond it; and in the number of their anal rays, which varies from 20
to 80. Some have the upper pectoral ray prolonged into a filament,
thus leading towards the succeeding genus, Coilia. The majority are
recognised, besides, by their peculiar structure, by a broad silvery,
lateral band, similar to that observed in the Atherines. The most
celebrated Anchovy is E. encrasicholus, very plentiful in the
Mediterranean, but rarely wandering northwards. It is the species
which, preserved in salt, is exported to all parts of the world,
although similarly lucrative fisheries of Anchovies might be
established in Tasmania where the same species occurs, in Chile,
China, Japan, California, at Buenos Ayres, each of which countries
possesses Anchovies by no means inferior to the Mediterranean
species.
Coilia.—Body terminating in a long tapering tail. Scales of
moderate size. Snout and jaws as in Engraulis. Anal fin exceedingly
long, confluent with the caudal. The two or three upper pectoral rays
are much prolonged, and their branches form four, six, or seven
filaments.
Twenty-third Family—Bathythrissidæ.
Body oblong, with rounded abdomen, covered with cycloid
scales; head naked; barbels none. Margin of the upper jaw formed
by the intermaxillaries mesially, and by the maxillaries laterally.
Opercular apparatus complete. Adipose fin none; dorsal fin much
elongate, many rayed; anal fin short. Stomach with a blind sac;
pyloric appendages numerous. Gill-apparatus well developed;
pseudobranchiæ; gill-openings wide; an air-bladder. Ova very small;
ovaries without duct.
One genus and species only (Bathythrissa dorsalis) from deep
water (350 fathoms) off the coast of Japan. This remarkable fish has
the appearance of a Coregonus, and attains to a length of two feet.
Nothing is known of its osteology, but possibly a fossil genus from
the Gyps of Montmartre; Notæus, which has also a long dorsal fin,
may prove to belong to the same family.
Twenty-fourth Family—Chirocentridæ.
Body covered with thin, deciduous scales; barbels none. Margin
of the upper jaw formed by the intermaxillaries mesially, and by the
maxillaries laterally, both bones being firmly united, in juxtaposition.
Opercular apparatus complete. Adipose fin none; the dorsal fin
belongs to the caudal portion of the vertebral column. Stomach with
a blind sac; intestine short, the mucous membrane forming a spiral
fold; pyloric appendages none. Pseudobranchiæ none; air-bladder
incompletely divided into cells; gill-opening wide.
One genus and species only (Chirocentrus dorab) is known,
which is common in the Indian Ocean, and attains to a length of
about three feet; it is not esteemed as food. Remains of fishes
similar to Chirocentrus are found in the marl slates of Padang, in
Sumatra.
Twenty-fifth Family—Alepocephalidæ.
Body with or without scales; head naked; barbels none. Margin of
the upper jaw formed by the intermaxillaries and maxillaries, the
former being placed along the upper anterior edge of the latter.
Opercular apparatus complete. Adipose fin none; the dorsal fin
belongs to the caudal portion of the vertebral column. Stomach
curved, without blind sac; pyloric appendages in moderate number.
Pseudobranchiæ; air-bladder absent. Gill-openings very wide.
Before the voyage of the “Challenger” one species only of this
family was known, Alepocephalus rostratus, a rare fish from the
Mediterranean; now, four genera with seven species are known, and
there is no doubt that this family is one of the most characteristic,
and will prove to be one of the most generally distributed forms, of
the deep-sea. Their vertical range varies between 345
(Xenodermichthys) and 2150 (Bathytroctes) fathoms. They approach
the Salmonoids, but lack invariably the adipose fin. Their dentition is
very feeble; their eye large; bones thin. Coloration black.
Alepocephalus has thin cycloid scales; a mouth of moderate
width, and no teeth on the maxillary.
Bathytroctes has cycloid scales, a wide mouth, and teeth on the
maxillary as well as intermaxillary.
Platytroctes has small keeled scales and no ventrals.
Xenodermichthys with fine nodules instead of scales.
Twenty-sixth Family—Notopteridæ.
Head and body scaly; barbels none. Margin of the upper jaw
formed by the intermaxillaries mesially, and by the maxillaries
laterally. Opercular apparatus incomplete. Tail prolonged, tapering.
Adipose fin none. Dorsal short, belonging to the caudal portion of the
vertebral column; anal very long. Stomach without blind sac; two
pyloric appendages. Pseudobranchiae none; air-bladder present,
divided in the interior. The ova fall into the cavity of the abdomen
before exclusion. On each side a parieto-mastoid cavity leading into
the interior of the skull.
One genus only (Notopterus) with five species which inhabit fresh
waters of the East Indies and West Africa. Well-preserved remains of
this genus occur in the marl slates of Padang, in Sumatra. Their air-
bladder is divided into several compartments, and terminates in two
horns anteriorly and posteriorly, the anterior horns being in direct
connection with the auditory organ.
Twenty-seventh Family—Halosauridæ.
Body covered with cycloid scales; head scaly; barbels none.
Margin of the upper jaw formed by the intermaxillaries mesially, and
by the maxillaries laterally. Opercular apparatus incomplete. Adipose
fin none. The short dorsal belongs to the abdominal part of the
vertebral column; anal very long. Stomach with a blind sac; intestine
short; pyloric appendages in moderate number. Pseudobranchiæ
none. Air-bladder large, simple; gill-openings wide. Ovaries closed.
The only genus belonging to this family was discovered by the
Madeiran ichthyologist Johnson, in 1863; but since then the
naturalists of the “Challenger” expedition have added four other
species, showing that this type is a deep-sea form and widely
distributed; the specimens were dredged in depths varying from 560
to 2750 fathoms.
Twenty-eighth Family—Hoplopleuridæ.
Body generally with four series of subtriangular scutes, and with
intermediate scale-like smaller ones. One (?) dorsal only; head long,
with the jaws produced.
Extinct; developed in the chalk and extending into tertiary
formations: Dercetis (with the upper jaw longest), Leptotrachelus,
Pelargorhynchus, Plinthophorus, Saurorhamphus (with the lower jaw
longest), Eurypholis; Ischyrocephalus (?). The latter genus, from
cretaceous formations of Westphalia, is said to have two dorsal fins.
Twenty-ninth Family—Gymnotidæ.
Head scaleless; barbels none. Body elongate, eel-shaped.
Margin of the upper jaw formed in the middle by the intermaxillaries,
and laterally by the maxillaries. Dorsal fin absent or reduced to an
adipose strip; caudal generally absent, the tail terminating in a point.
Anal fin exceedingly long. Ventrals none. Extremity of the tapering
tail capable of being reproduced. Vent situated at, or at a short
distance behind, the throat. Humeral arch attached to the skull. Ribs
well developed. Gill-openings rather narrow. Air-bladder present,
double. Stomach with a cæcal sac and pyloric appendages. Ovaries
with oviducts.
Eel-like freshwater fishes from Tropical America.
Sternarchus.—Tail terminating in a distinct small caudal fin.
Teeth small. A rudimentary dorsal fin is indicated by an adipose band
fitting into a groove on the back of the tail; it is easily detached, so as
to appear as a thong-like appendage fixed in front. Branchiostegals
four.
Eight species, some have the snout compressed and of
moderate length, like St. Bonapartii from the River Amazons; others
have it produced into a long tube, as St. oxyrhynchus from the
Essequibo.
Rhamphichthys.—Caudal fin none; teeth none; no trace of a
dorsal fin. No free orbital margin.
Six species, of which, again, some have a tubiform snout, whilst
in the others it is short.
Sternopygus.—Caudal fin none; no trace of a dorsal fin. Both
jaws with small villiform teeth; similar teeth on each side of the palate.
Body scaly.
One species (C. fasciatus) extremely common, and found all over
tropical America, east of the Andes, from 18 to 24 inches long.
Gymnotus.—Caudal and dorsal fins absent; anal extending to the
end of the tail. Scales none. Teeth conical, in a single series. Eyes
exceedingly small.
Thirtieth Family—Symbranchidæ.
Body elongate, naked or covered with minute scales; barbels
none. Margin of the upper jaw formed by the intermaxillaries only,
the well developed maxillaries lying behind and parallel to them.
Paired fins none. Vertical fins rudimentary, reduced to more or less
distinct cutaneous folds. Vent situated at a, great distance behind the
head. Ribs present. Gill-openings confluent into one slit situated on
the ventral surface. Air-bladder none. Stomach without cæcal sac or
pyloric appendages. Ovaries with oviducts.
The fishes of this family consist of freshwater-fishes from tropical
America and Asia, which, however, enter also brackish water; and of
a truly marine genus from Australia.
Amphipnous.—Vent in the posterior half of the body, which is
covered with minute scales longitudinally arranged.