BY E. P. RAMSAY, LL.D., F.R.S.E., AND J. DOUGLAS-OGILBY. 583 



Following up this clue Dr. Bleeker in 1863 proved conclusively 

 from the examination of a specimen contained in the Leyden 

 Museum, that the subject of this memoir is a Blennioid fish, or, as 

 Dr. Day says "in fact a Petroscirtes with a tsenioid or eel-like body ;" 

 the remarkable form of the dentition, and the size and position of 

 the gill-openings are conclusive proofs of the correctness of this 

 view. To the Zool. Ree. of 1868 Dr. Giinther supplies a note, in 

 which he recognises the identity of Nemophis with Xiphasia, or 

 Xiphogadus as he prefers to call it, and appears to have come to 

 the conclusion that there is probably but one species. If, however, 

 Playfair's description (P.Z.S. 1868, p. 11) be correct, there are 

 certain differences between his fish and ours, which would be suffi- 

 cient to establish the specific rank of his example. 



In view of the meagre descriptions of this curious form which are 

 available to us, we have thought it advisable to give a full 

 description of our fish taken from the recent examples above 

 mentioned. 



XlPHASIA SETIFER. 



Ophidium tonkah-talawaree, Russell, Fish. Vizag. I., p. 28, 

 pi XXXIX. 



Xiphasia setifer, Swainson, Fishes, in Lardner's Cyclopaedia n., 

 pp. 179, 259, (1839); Day, Fishes of India, p. 336, pi. lxxiii., 

 f. 1, (1878). 



Xiphichthys russellii, Jerdon, M. J. L. & Sc, p. 139, (1851). 



Xiphogadus setifer, Giinth., Cat. iv., p. 374, (1862). 



(?) Nemophis lessoni, Kaup, P. Z. S. 1858, p. 168; Gtinth., 

 Cat in., p. 296. 



(?) Xiphogadus madagascariensis, Playf., P. Z. S. 1868, p. 11. 



B. vi. ; D, 128, 129 ; A. 116, 115 ; V. 3 ; P. 13 ; C. 12. 



Length of head 16 in the total length ; height of head \ to \ of 

 its length ; caudal fin about ^ of the same. Orbit 3/ in the 

 length of head, equal to that of snout, and from J to f of a 



