178 MEGRIM. LOPHOTES. 



and three fourths in length, with the breadth of one inch and a 

 half; eyes near each other, large, looking to the left, separated 

 by an elevated ridge, the lowest a little in advance. Jaws 

 equal, the gape wide, angle of the mouth depressed, with a 

 stout mystache. Body thin, expanded just above the eyes, but 

 widest at about the first third of the length backward. The 

 scales large and thin, but so loosely adhering to the skin that 

 they are easily separated from it, so that it is not common to 

 find more than a few present. The skin also appears to be 

 easily rubbed off from the flesh. Lateral line arched at first, 

 not descending beyond the level of the uppermost eye, thence 

 sloping until it proceeds straight to the tail. When the skin 

 is removed, a line is seen which slopes gently downward, until 

 it passes onward to the tail. The dorsal fin begins in front of 

 the upper eye, and commonly is narrow at its origin, becoming- 

 wider at half its length, but in the example described several 

 of the first rays were considerably lengthened into separate 

 threads; pectoral fin narrow; ventrals close to the throat, and 

 separate from the anal fin, the latter running parallel with the 

 dorsal, and both ending short of the tail. Caudal fin rounded. 

 The colour usually is pale dusky yellow, but in the present 

 example a brighter yellow; border of the dorsal, anal, and 

 caudal fins of a lighter colour. 



LOPHOTES. 



Itphotes, GUNTHER; Cat. Er. Museum, vol. iv, p. 417. 



DR. GUNTHER remarks, in his description of this speck-* 



from examples formerly in possession of Mr. Yarrell, that this 



collection was entirely composed of specimens of British Fishes 



with a few species from the Mediterranean. The situation? 



irom which they were obtained had been noted by him only in 



a small proportion of the specimens, and unfortunately no 



record has been preserved by him of the history of the 



specimens of this species. Nearly all the Mediterranean 



specimens are prepared in a uniformly peculiar manner, 



different from that in which the British specimens in general, 



