Clarke. — On a new Flying-fish. 95 



most prominent portion of the tip. The lower jaw is also the 

 longer when the mouth is fully open, and the jaws have some 

 slight capacity of protrusion. The mouth is very small. A 

 few very minute, short, thick, recurved teeth in a double row 

 at the tip of the lower jaw and a single row of the same 

 description around the centre third of the upper jaw. There 

 is a small, round, hard nodule at that posterior higher angle of 

 the preorbital immediately adjoining the margin of orbit. The 

 length of snout from anterior margin of eye, with mouth closed, 

 exactly equals half the diameter of the eye. (In speculiger the 

 snout is rather produced, and very nearly equals the diameter 

 of the eye.) The eye, as compared with the size of the head, 

 is very large, its diameter being contained twice and a little 

 more than a half in the length of the head. (The eye of 

 speculiger is one-third the length of head, that of nigripinnis 

 two-fifths.) The interorbital space in a line even with the 

 anterior margins of eyes exceeds the diameter of the eye, 

 and in even line with posterior margins of eyes exceeds 

 diameter of eye by one semi-diameter. This space is 

 almost flat, being but slightly depressed in median line, 

 the profile of such depression slightly convex, as are the 

 supraorbital spaces. The top of the head at the interorbital 

 space and to the occiput is free from scales, bony, and hard. 

 The depth of head (under the vertical from occiput) equals the 

 distance between the tip of snout and vertical falling through 

 the posterior margin of preoperculum. The body is thick and 

 robust, the back — which, with the top of the head, is slightly 

 flattened — being much the wider. Sides and cheeks are also 

 flattened, but incline towards the ventral edge, the lower part 

 of the body being thus narrower and more angular, especially 

 under the head and throat, though still stoutish. 



The pectoral fins are wide and long, extending, when 

 closed, to considerably beyond the commencement of the 

 rudimentary rays of the caudal fin. Ventral fins commence 

 exactly midway between verticals of posterior margin of eye 

 and " root of tail." They also are long and broad, and extend, 

 when laid back, almost to midway between the terminal line 

 of anal and commencement of rudimentary rays of caudal. 

 The two external rays of caudal fin adjoining the rudimentary 

 rays are quite stout. The dorsal commences a little in ad- 

 vance of the plane of anal, but terminates exactly in same 

 plane as anal. The scales are large, the larger averaging quite 

 j^in. in width when detached from their sacs. Attached they 

 have so great an overlap as to make them appear much 

 smaller. The series forming the lateral line are much smaller, 

 each being provided with tubular mucous duct. They are 

 arranged directly on the epidermis ; the general scales both 

 above and below partially overlap them. The eyes are pro- 



