150 DEEP-SEA FISHES OP THE ATLANTIC BASIN. 



the same as in the case of those upon the head. Height of dorsal and anal fins about equal 

 to half the height of body. 



Color, apparently, brownish; i)eritoneum black. 



The types of V. procera were two fishes obtained at station 325, N. lat. 33° 35' 20", W.lon. 

 76°, at a depth of G47 fathoms. Another mutilated specimen, about 1!I0 millimeters long, 

 was taken at station 327. This species is in many respects closely allied to the NitUiittoma 

 melanurum of the Mediterranean, but appears to differ ft'om it in the greater length of the tail, 

 the much smaller teeth, and in the presence of a filamentous nasal tip. 



VENEFICA PEOBOSCIDEA, (Vaillant), Jordan aud Davis 

 Nettastoma proboscideum, Vaillant, Exp. Sci., Travailleur et Talisman, Poissons, 1888, 89, pi. vii, fig. 3. 



A Kettastoma, with upper jaw projecting quite beyond the lower, and prolonged in a 

 proboscis-like tip half as long as the upper jaw and 5 times the diameter of the ej'e, with 

 mouth-cleft extending far behind the orbit. Teeth small, in cardiformbandson jaws and 

 palatines. Tail one-half to three-fifths the length of body (head included). Diameter of the 

 eye one-twentieth the length of the head. 



This, described from a single specimen obtained ort' JNIorocco, at 2,200 meters, is a 

 small-eyed form, with flue teeth and a nasal extension. Tlie length of the nasal tij) is, 

 essentially, an unreliable character, and the proportion of tail to body may prove to be sub- 

 ject to considerable individual variation. 



CHLOPSIS, Rafinesque. 



Chlopsis. Kafinesque, Ind. Itt. Siciliana, 1810, 58. — Jordan and Davis, Rej). U. S. F. C, 1888, 650. 

 Saurenchelijs, Peters, Berliner Mouatsberichte, 1864, 397. 



A genus closely allied to Nettastoma, having the nostrils lateral, the posterior one 

 slit-like and placed near the eye. Body scaleless. Snout much produced. Jaws, vomer, 

 and palatine bones with several series of small, pointed teeth, those along the median line 

 of the vomer being somewhat the larger. Vertical fins well developed; pectorals none. 

 Nostrils lateral, the anterior near to the end of the snout, the posterior in front of the 

 eye. Air bladder and pyloric appendages absent. (Peters.) 



Two species are known, one, C. equatorialis, Gilbert, taken by the Albatross off the 

 coast of Ecuador, in 401 fathoms, the other, C. bicolor. 



CHLOPSIS BICOLOR, Rafinesque. 



Chlopais himlor, Rafinesque, loc. cit.. .59. — Jordan and D.\vis, loc cit. 

 Saurenchelys cancrivora, Peters, loc. cit. — GOnther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., viii, 48. 



Tail tapering into a point. Gill opening one-fifth more distant from vent than from the 

 end of the snout. Diameter of eye one-third of the length of the snout. Length of head 

 two-fifths of total length. Dorsal fin commencing inunediately behind the gill opening. 

 Upper jaw the longer. Vertical fins with a black margin posteriorly. Peritoneum silvery. 

 [Peters.) 



The unique specimen from which the above characters were taken was found by Dr. 

 Peters, in the Berlin Museum in a jar of fishes, chiefly from India. A crab found in the 

 stomach led Dr. Peters to believe that the flsh had been misplaced, and actually had come 

 from the Mediterranean or the Atlantic. Its resemblance to Nrftasfoma and the fact that 

 it is not known in any shallow-water fauna lead us to believe that it is probably a deej)- 

 water form. 



