FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 79, NO. 3 



anterior nostril opening on edge of upper lip, 

 posterior nostril opening approximately half-way 

 between edge of lip and eye; oral valve present 

 lining both upper and lower jaw; gill opening 

 small, situated just below and behind base of 

 pectoral fin lobe; no opening behind fourth gill 

 arch; holobranchs present on ventral half of 

 ceratobranchial I, full length of ceratobranchials 

 II and III, ventral half of epibranchial II, and 

 ventral tip of epibranchial III; hemibranchs pres- 

 ent on dorsal half of ceratobranchial IV and 

 ventral tip of epibranchial IV; pseudobranch 

 absent; swim bladder absent; ovaries paired. 



Pterygiophore of illicium completely covered 

 with skin of head; illicial bone short ( < 8% SL) and 

 thin, tapering to a point; bases of soft dorsal and 

 anal fins long (>489c and 42% SL, respectively), 

 rays short; dorsal and anal fin rays enveloped in 

 membrane; in some specimens (7 of 16 specimens 

 examined) distal tips of first 9 rays of soft dorsal 

 fin free, each terminating in a tight ball of tissue, 

 remaining dorsal rays enveloped in membrane; 

 caudal fin long (>30% SL), rounded. 



Teeth small, slender, recurved, and depressible; 

 each premaxilla with a single row of 22-25 teeth, 

 each dentary with approximately 35 teeth ar- 

 ranged in two rows; vomerine teeth in two patches, 

 about 25 teeth in each patch; palatine teeth 

 absent; pharyngobranchials II and III and cerato- 

 branchial V toothed. 



Color in preservative white on lower half of body 

 to brown on upper half of body, with numerous, 

 small, white spots continuing onto soft dorsal fin, 

 remaining fins white; oral cavity and viscera 

 unpigmented. 



Length to 67 mm SL. 



Complete counts and measurements of repre- 

 sentative material are given in Table 1. 



Habitat. — Specific information on the habitat 

 frequented by T. ocellatum is available for only 

 two captures: a 31.5 mm SL specimen (AMS 

 1.19289.003) and a 41.5 mm SL specimen (AMS 

 1.20907-041) were trawled off a bottom of mud, 

 gravel, and shell. A number of other specimens 

 were collected in prawn trawls most likely fished 

 over similar, soft-bottom substrates of mud or 

 sand. 



Distribution (Figure 2). — Tetrabrachium ocella- 

 tum is known from 36 specimens collected in 

 shallow water (55 m or less) off the western (as far 

 south as lat. 29° S) and northern coasts of Austra- 

 lia, the southern coast of Papua, New Guinea, and 

 the south Molucca Islands, Indonesia. 



Osteology of Tetrabrachium ocellatum 

 Figures 3-13 



The osteology of lophiiform fishes has been dealt 

 with by numerous authors (Garman 1899; Regan 



Figure 2. — Known distribution of Tetrabrachium ocellatum. 

 One symbol may indicate more than one capture. 



Table L — Count.s and mea.surements (in percentage of standard length) of representative specimens of Tetrabrachium ocellatum. 



390 



