Hamilton. — Occurrence of Genus Trachipterus in New Zealand. 381 



in the Mediterranean seas. It lias been shown that these Mediterranean 

 species — T. iris, T. sjdnolae, and T. taenia — should be correctly identified 

 with Gmelin's Cepola trachyptera. Since Cepola of Gmelin(13) had to give 

 way to Trachipterus of Gouan(]4), the correct name for the type of the 

 genus should be Trachipterus trachypterus. 



After comparing the descriptions of the fishes from Chatham Island, 

 Purakanui, Port Chalmers, Victoria, and Tasmania, it is concluded that 

 they are all referable to T. taenia Bloch & Schn., the conclusion arrived 

 at by McCoy(5) when describing the Victorian example. As previously 

 stated, T. taenia Bloch & Schn. must be looked on as a synonym of 

 Gmelin's Trachypterus trachyptera, and must now be known as Trachi- 

 pterus trachypterus (Gmelin). 



Ogilby's specimen from Newcastle, to which he gave the subspecific 

 name of polystictus, is evidently very closely related to the fish described 

 by McGov from the Victorian coast. If entitled to the rank of a subspecies 

 it must certainly be referred to Trachipterus trachypterus, and would there- 

 fore be known as Trachipteriis trachypterus var. polystictus Ogilby. 



A table of comparative measurements of four specimens of T. trachy- 

 pterus is appended. (All measurements are in millimetres.) 



List of Authors quoted. 



(1.) Emery, C. " Contribuzioni all' ittiologia: Le metamorphosi del 

 Trachypterus taenia.'" Atti R. Accad. Lincei, Roma, Mem., 3, 1879, 

 pp. 390-97. 



(2.) Ogilby, J. D. '' Remarks on the South Pacific Species of Trachypterus 

 Gouan." Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., xxii, 1897, pp. 646-.59. 



(3.) Ramsay, E. P. " On a New Species of Reqalaecus from Port Jack- 

 son." Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., v, 1881, p.' 631, pi. xx. 



(4.) Jordan, D. S., and Snyder, G. 0. " Descriptions of Nine New Species 

 of Fishes contained in Museums of Japan." Journ. Coll. Sci. Tokyo, 

 XV, 1901, p. 310. 



(.5.) McCoy, F. " Trachypterus toenia (Bloch) : the Southern Ribbon-fish." 

 Prod. Zool. Vict., dec. 13, ii, 1886, pi. 122. 



(6.) Hutton, F. W. " Contributions to the Ichthyologv of New Zealand." 

 Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 5, 1873, p. 264 ; vol. 8, 1876, p. 214 ; vol. 22, 

 1890, p. 281. 



