Wolf-fish, or CAT-FISH (Anarrhichas lupus), a fish related to the blennies, common in north temperate seas, and not infrequent on northern British coasts. It is famous for its ferocious appearance and habit. The stout body is usually about 3 feet in length, but may be a foot or two more; the massive head has a blunt profile, and the open mouth, with its formidable teeth, is suggestive of a carnivorous mammal; the skin is slimy, and bears only rudimentary scales; the general colour is brownish gray, crossed by about a dozen dark bands, and spotted; the dorsal and anal fins are long, the pelvic fins are absent. The teeth are very remarkable, those in front like canines, those on the sides of the lower jaw tubercled, those on the palate pavement-like. They are adapted for seizing and crushing molluscs, crustaceans, and sea-urchins. The wolf-fish is fond of rocky bottoms, but it is often caught where it is not much wanted, on cod-lines. It bites savagely when caught, and is often destructive to nets. Its ferocious appearance and habits, and its peculiar smell, are responsible for a prejudice which prevents it from being justly esteemed as a food-fish, for as such it is certainly valuable and, according to some, 'delicious.' The thick skin is sometimes made into bags. On the Pacific coast of North America there is an even larger form (A. ocellatus), also of use as a food-fish.