30 



row in each jaw, slender, sharp, curved ; about thirty in the upper 

 jaw, and forty- six in the lower. Eyes on the leftside; distance of 

 the upper from the snout, equal to one-fourth the length of the head ; 

 distance between them, one-sixth the same length. 



Dorsal commencing a little anterior to the upper eye, with its greatest 

 height (which is one- third the length of the head), at about the middle 

 of its length ; the interval between it and the caudal, equal to the 

 heio;ht of the fin. 



Anal arising a little posterior to the line of the pectorals, and distant 

 by a space equal to its own height from the origin of the ventrals. It 

 reaches its greatest height, which equals that of the dorsal, at about 

 the twelfth ray ; it is coterminal with the dorsal. 



Caudal concave posteriorly ; its breadth when expanded equaling 

 one-fourth the length of the fish. 



D. 70, A. 55, P. 15, V. 6, C. 4, 1, 6, 7, 1, 4. 



Color plain greyish brown above ; white beneath. 



This manifestly is a true Ilij^jjoglossus, though the eyes are on the 

 left side. It is a very distinct species ; the head and the fin-rays 

 give of themselves sufficient distinguishing characters. 



It appears to be by no means common in this vicinity. A few have 

 been taken at intervals in the Bay of San Francisco. The largest 

 were a little over four feet in length. 



Another species, in which the eyes are on the right side, is occa- 

 sionally taken near the Farallon Islands, opposite the mouth of the 

 Bay, which I do not feel Avarranted in separating from 11. vulgaris^ 

 without a direct comparison of the two. Its fin-rays are D. 102, A. 

 73, P. 16, V. 6, C. 4, 1, 7, 8, 1, 4. 



It appears to be seldom quite as large as H. californicus. 



Muracna mordax, (Ayres). — Form elongated, almost cylindric 

 anteriorly, becoming very much compressed toward the tail. Gi'eatest 

 depth contained not quite fourteen times in the total length. Head 

 pointed anteriorly ; lower jaw a little the longer. Gape of the mouth 

 backward equal to the depth of the body at the origin of the anal fin. 



Teeth largest in front, sharp, slightly curved backward, arrai)ged 

 in a single row in each jaw and on the palatines, with one or two large 

 ones on the anterior part of the vomer. 



The eye is situated at the distance of twice its own longitudinal 

 diameter from the snout, which distance equals half the gape of the 

 mouth. 



The opercular slit, whose length is about equal to the longitudinal 

 diameter of the eye, is distant from the snout by a space twice as 

 great as the gape of the mouth. 



The dorsal and anal fins, which are continuous around the caudal 

 extremity, are enveloped in so thick a membrane, and have so little 



