36 NEW GENERA AND SPECIES OF FISHES, 



sar/or in the Australian Museum (Day collection) — the head is- 

 smaller, eye larger, barbels shorter, opercles and anterior portion 

 of the lateral line smooth, adipose fin larger, &c. 



The resemblance to Arius so?ia { = f/agorides) is superficial. 



In restricting the generic name Arius to grandicassis and its 

 allies, I am keenly aware that I am acting in opposition to the 

 published opinions of such high authorities as Drs. Jordan, Gill, 

 Eigenmann, and others; nevertheless, grandicassis being the first 

 species described by Valenciennes under the new generic name 

 Arius, and no other species having been categorically proposed 

 by that author as the type, I fail to perceive by what right Dr. 

 Bleeker could arbitrarily select from among the remaining species 

 included in the genus by its original founder any other type; 

 and the fact that in place of a South American villiform-toothed 

 fish. Dr. Bleeker selected an East Indian granular-toothed species, 

 belonging to Lacepede's earlier genus Tachisttrus, as his type, is 

 an additional and most potent reason why Dr. Bleeker's arbitrary 

 action should be disregarded, and the name Aritis, instead of 

 being reduced to a synonym of Tachisurus, should be allowed to 

 remain in undisturbed possession of those species having villiform 

 palatine teeth with a backward projection along the inner margin 

 of the bone, to which the names Netuma and Notarius have been 

 given by Drs. Bleeker and Gill respectively. 



MYCTOPHID^. 



^THOPRORA PERSPICILLATA. 



D. iii 14. A. ii 13. Sc. 36. 



Depth of body A\, length of head 3^ in the total length; depth 

 of head f of its length. Snout very short, obtuse, and declivous, 

 vertically divided into two portions by a delicate scale-like ridge. 

 Luminous organ large, covering the entire front of the snout but 

 separated from the eye by a conspicuous interspace, its posterior 

 lobe prolonged backwards beyond the front margin of the eye and 

 scarcely separated from its antero-inferior angle ; a smaller. 



