HuTTON. — Occurrence of Centrolophus in Neiv Zealand. 149 



than the second dorsal. Caudal apparently truncated. No 

 scales. The lateral line well marked, continuous, rather 

 rough. Minute teeth on the jaws and palate. 



Dark olivaceous-brown on the back, the sides and abdo- 

 men silvery, with a pink spot at the base of the operculum 

 and five bright rose-pmk bands on each side. 



D., 8/18(?); A., 13(?). 



Total length, 46 mm. ; of the head, 10 mm. ; of the snout, 

 3 mm. Height of the body, 7'5mm. Diameter of the eye, 

 3*5 mm. ; interorbital space, 3 mm. Length of the base of 

 the first dorsal, 6'5 ram. ; of the second, 13 mm. ; of the 

 anal, 11 mm. Length of the pectoral, 10 mm. ; of the ventral, 

 9 mm. 



Picked up on the beach at Sumner and presented to the 

 Museum by Mr. F. C. B. Bishop. 



As the fish had been partially dried I could not count the 

 fin-rays very accurately, but it is evident from its colours that 

 il is distinct from any previously described species. 



The type is preserved in the Canterbury Museum. 



Akt. X. — On the Occurrence of Centrolophus in New Zealand. 



By Captain F. W. Hutton, F.E.S. 



[Read before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, 4th November, 



1903.] 



Centrolophus, called " blackfish " from its colour, is a pelagic 

 fish found in the Mediterranean and North Atlantic. Early 

 in the year 1893 the Australian Museum at Sydney received a 

 specimen from New Zealand which was described by Mr. 

 Douglas Ogilby as a new species, G. maoricus. On the 16th 

 of last February another specimen of the blackfish was picked 

 up at Sumner by Mr. Thomas Clark, who presented it to 

 the Christchurch Museum. The specimen was considerably 

 damaged by gulls about the head and neck, but it has been 

 preserved in formalin. 



It differs from G. maoricus in the more numerous fin-rays, 

 in which respect it comes nearer to G. bntannicus of Dr. 

 Ounther (Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., 3, vi., 46), but our fish has 

 more fin-rays even than that species. However, without 

 making a skeleton it is difficult to say exactly where the 

 Qorsal fin begins or how many spines it has, for it rises so 

 slowly from tlie back and the spines are so weak. 



The following is a description of the specimen : — 



D., 10/47 ; A., 3/35. 



