126 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [April, 



Mouth transverse, inferior; lower jaw with no lip, edge of the man- 

 dible sharp, covered with a horny layer. No labial fold. Barbels 

 none. Dorsal fin with not more than 9 branched rays, armed with 

 three undivided rays, inserted opposite to ventrals. Anal rather 

 short. Pharyngeal teeth 5, 3, 2-2, 3, 5, laterally compressed, 

 plough-shaped. Scales large, less than 45 in a longitudinal series. 

 Lateral line continuous, running along the middle of the tail. Type 

 Scaphiodentella alticorpus Oshima.. 



The type is very closely related to Scaphesthes tamusuiensis Osh- 

 ima. It differs however, in having a deeper body, no barbel, plough- 

 shaped teeth instead of canine-like, pointed ones. 



20. Scaphiodontella alticorpus new species. Plate IV, figure 1. 



Head 4.67 in length; depth 3.27; D. 3.8; A. 3.5; P. 17; V. 9; 

 width of head 1.36 in its length; eye 5 in head; interorbital space 2; 

 snout 2.47; pectoral 1.08; ventral 1.08; scales 43 in the lateral 

 line, 8 in an oblique series between origin of dorsal and lateral 

 line, 8 between the latter and the middle of belly, 4 between the 

 lateral line and the root of ventral; pharyngeal teeth 5, 3, 2-2, 3, 5; 

 gill-rakers 8 + 30. Body deep, elongate, slightly compresed, deep- 

 est in front of the dorsal, abdomen rounded; head rather small and 

 short, with mucous cavities below and behind the orbit, its upper 

 surface strongly convex; interorbital space broad, vaulted re- 

 markably; snout short, pointed anteriorly, tip of the skin extends 

 downwards and overlaps the upper lip; mouth transverse, inferior, 

 crescent-shaped, maxillary scarcely reaching the anterior border of 

 the orbit; mandibular edge sharp, broadly rounded, covered with a 

 horny layer; upper lip smooth, with no inner fold; lower jaw with 

 no lip; barbels none; eye small, slightly anterior and superior; 

 nostrils close together, in front of the eye; pharyngeal teeth in three 

 rows, laterally compressed, each tooth with an oval grinding surface; 

 gill-rakers slender, set close together; gill-openings moderate, ex- 

 tending downwards and forwards. Dorsal fin inserted nearer tip 

 of snout than base of caudal, with three smooth undivided rays, the 

 first minute, the third nearly four times as long as the second, first 

 branched ray the longest; anal fin entirely behind the dorsal, in- 

 serted midway between origins of ventral and caudal, rather short, 

 outer margin nearly straight; origin of ventral below the third 

 branched ray of the dorsal, not reaching the vent; pectoral as long 

 as the ventral, reaching beyond half the distance to the latter; cau- 

 dal penduncle short, its depth 1.72 in head; caudal fin long, deeply 

 forked, tip of each lobe sharply pointed. Body covered with uni- 



