Hutton. — Occurrence of Alepisaurus ferox. 197 



Art. XVIII. — On the Occurrence of Alepisaurus ferox on the 



Coast of Nciv Zealand. 



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



'Read before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, 3rd July, 1901.] 



Plate IX. 



Last September three specimens of this fish were found on 

 the beach at Riversdale, sixteen miles south of Castle Point, 

 on the east coast of Wellington. Some time later photographs 

 of two of them were sent to me for determination.* One 

 photograph (Plate IX.) was of a dried head, and is sufficient 

 to settle the genus to which the fish belongs. The other 

 photograph is of a whole fish. It is very inferior to the first, 

 but sufficient can be made out to corroborate the conclusion 

 arrived at from the skull. 



The skull closely resembles the figure of the Tasmanian 

 specimen, but differs in the numbers of the large lanceolate 

 teeth in the jaws. In the New Zealand specimen there are 

 two anterior and one median large teeth on each side of the 

 upper jaw. The lower jaw has three pairs of large teeth 

 situated in the middle of the jaw, and opposing the two pairs 

 of anterior teeth of the upper jaw. Also, there is a smaller 

 pair of large teeth near the end of the lower jaw. 



Judging from the photograph of the whole fish, I should 

 say that the length of the head was about one-fifth of the 

 whole length, without the caudal, and that the length of 

 the gape was about one-eighth of the length. The dorsal fin 

 is much elevated. The pectorals are long, but terminate at a 

 considerable distance from the ventrals. The caudal lobes 

 are, apparently, equal in length. 



References. 



Alepisaurus ferox, Lowe. Trans. Zool. Soc. London, 

 vol. 1, p. 395, pi. 59 (1835). 



Alepisaurus sp., Richardson. Voy. Ereb. and Terr., Fish, 

 p. 34, pi. 22, figs. 1-4 (1844). 



Alepidosaurus ferox, Gunther. Cat. Fishes in Brit. Mus., 

 vol. 5, p. 421 (1864). 



Plagodus ferox, Gunther. " Study of Fishes," p. 586, 

 fig. 270 (1880). 



Plagodus ferox, Gunther. " Challenger Reports," 

 vol. 22, p. 203, Deep-sea Fishes (1887). 



Alepisaurus ferox, Good and Bean. " Oceanic Ichthyology," 

 p. 117, pi. 38, fig. 142 (1895). 



* By Mr. R. Barcham, of Masterton. 



