226 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. 



scapulary to the hyoid region. Head low and elongate, scaleless, broad across the 

 occipital region, but tapering towards the front. Its upper surface is deeply concave 

 longitudinally, the least width of the interorbital space being about one-half of the 

 longitudinal diameter of the eye. The eye is very large, longer than deep, rather longer 

 than the snout, and contained thrice and a quarter in the length of the head. Snout 

 rather pointed, with the jaws equal in front and with the cleft of the mouth rather wide, 

 the maxillary extending beyond the centre of the eye. The dentition is feeble ; teeth 

 small, pointed, of equal size, uniserial. The intermaxillary and the foremost part of the 

 maxillary are toothless ; vomerine series divided into two groups, each with three teeth. 

 Palatine series short, consisting of about nine teeth. 



Branch iostegals very slender, rod-shaped. The infraorbital ring consists of very 

 narrow bones hollowed out for the muciferous channel. 



Gills four, with very short gill-laminas. Gill-rakers long, lanceolate, rather widely 

 set, twenty-two on the outer branchial arch. 



Vent nearly midway between the gill-opening and the root of the caudal fiu. Origin 

 of the dorsal somewhat in advance of the vent, its last ray being opposite to the fourth 

 of the anal fin. Both dorsal and anal rather high in front, their longest rays being equal 

 in length to the depth of this portion of the body. (The caudal fin is nearly entirely 

 destroyed.) Pectoral fin lateral, inserted opposite to the lower half of the gill-opening ; 

 ventrals with broad base, covering the vent, but not extending to the anal ; their base 

 is midway between the root of the pectoral and the end of the anal, immediately in 

 advance of the dorsal. 



Only a few of the scales have been preserved ; they are simple, cycloid. The lateral 

 line is straight, running along the middle of the tail, with wide mucous apertures. 



Colour, uniform black. 



The specimen is not in a sufficiently good state to be figured entire. 



Bathytroctes microlepis (PI. LVII. fig. A). 



Baihytroctea microlepis, Giinth., Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 1878, vol. ii p. 249. 



B. 7. D. 16. A. 17. V. 8. L. lat. ca. 70. 



The maxillary extends to below the posterior third of the orbit. 

 Habitat. — Atlantic, south-east of Cape St Vincent, Station V.; depth, 1090 fiithoms. 

 One specimen, 10 inches long. 



The height of the body is contained five times and one-fourth in the total length 

 (without caudal), the length of the head thrice and three-fifths. Bones of the head thin 

 as in Bathytroctes macroh'pis. Head rather compressed, moderately deep, its depth at 

 the occiput being two-thirds of its length ; its upper surface is concave, the width of the 



