ARGENTJNE. 165 



from a little above the second gutta to the commencement of 

 the anal fin : one large gutta, in a line with the upper abdo- 

 minal series, is placed slightly anterior, but above the com- 

 mencement of the anal fin : between the anterior commence- 

 ment of anal and base of caudal, twenty-four ; but between 

 the eighth and ninth from the caudal fin, there is a space 

 where a spot appears to have been obliterated. 



" About midway between the anterior commencement of the 

 dorsal and base of caudal, but rather nearer the latter, there 

 is a slight elevation, where, apparently, the fleshy fin has its 

 origin ; but in the specimen under description it is scarcely 

 perceptible, being, even with the aid of a lens, only like a 

 slight membranous ridge. 



" The formula of the fin-rays appears to be 



D. 9 : P. 17 : V. 8 : A. 20 : C. 18. 



Mr. Yarrell remarks, ' the figure of this fish, referred to in 

 Risso's work, represents the anal fin as containing many more 

 rays than are represented in the figure by Pennant.' The 

 fish obtained by me possesses more anal rays than Pennant's 

 would appear to have had, judging from the figure which he 

 has published. 



" Length of head compared with whole length of fish, as 

 one to four : diameter of eye to length of head, as one to 

 three : first dorsal fin commences midway between end of 

 nose and tail : depth of body to whole length of fish, as one 

 to five and a half: nostrils double, situated in a depression 

 midway between the eye and centre of intermaxillary bone. 

 The operculum is extremely large, and appears to be deve- 

 loped at the expense of the pre-operculum, which is very 

 small, and joins the former by a straight moveable suture, 

 running in a line perpendicularly downwards, from the poste- 

 rior margin of the orbit ; it forms an obtuse-angled triangle, 

 with the obtuse angle pointing downwards and backwards : 



