196 



156. Coloconger raniceps, Alcock. 



Coloconger raniceps, Alcock, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Dec. 1889, p. 456: Illustrations of the Zoology of the 

 Investigator, Fishks, pl. VII. fig. 4. 



Head frog-like, its length (measured to the gill-opening) is half, or some- 

 times a little more than half, the distance between the gill-opening and the vent, 

 and a fifth, or sometimes a little more than a fifth, the total. 



Snout blunt, shorter than or as long as the eye. Bye about a fourth the 

 length of the head and equal to the -width of the interocular space. Nostrils 

 large, the anterior sub-tubular, the posterior above the angle of the eye. 



Mouth cavernous, its cleft extending to the hinder edge of the pupil. Jaws 

 slender, equal. Tongue short, broad, fleshy, free in its anterior third. In each 

 jaw a row of small uniform teeth in continuous contact, except at their extreme 

 tips, which show as minute recurved asperities on a sharp-edged ridge. No 

 vomerine teeth. A large, oval, horny, granular plate in the fauces behind the 

 superior pharyngeal bones. A mucous channel with numerous pores along the 

 lower jaw beneath. 



Gill-lamina3 narrow ; gill-openings of moderate size, a broad fold extends 

 from their outer edge to the base of the pectoral fin. 



No scales. Head with numerous black tubular papilla?. Lateral line a 

 salient tube, with upwards of a hundred similar papilla?. 



Vertical fins confluent; the dorsal, which begins above the base of the 

 pectoral, is considerably higher than the anal. Pectorals two-fifths of the length 

 of the head, or a little longer. 



Colours in spirit : brown ; abdomen speckled with black, due to the peri- 

 toneal pigment showing through. 



Visceral peritoneum black. Stomach with a cascum half as long as the 

 body-cavity. Intestine sinuous. Only the left lobe of the liver developed. Air- 

 bladder large, globular. 



Length 6^ to 10- inches. 



Andaman Sea, 265, 271, and 405 fathoms; Bay of Bengal, 200 to 400 

 fathoms ; Arabian Sea, off Malabar coast, 224 to 284 fathoms. 



Regd. Nos. 11637, 11639, 11778, 11779, ^ ™, 'f, '-^j^- 



CONGROHURiENA. Kaup. 



One species of this genus is included in the Fauna of British India ; the 

 "Investigator" has brought five more to light, all being inhabitants of deep-, 

 water. 



