140 TWO XEW GENERA AND SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN FISHES, 



which I am very unwilKng to take since in all other chai-acters it 

 is a true Brotulid; in fact its affinity to Dineinatichthys is so close 

 that its disassociation with that genus would be out of the 

 question, the dentition and the form of the maxillary being the 

 only pi'ominent external differential characters. I have not had 

 access to Dr. Bleeker's j^aper diagnostic of Dinematichtliy^, and 

 am, therefore, unaware as to whether or not he notices any such 

 rudimentary first dorsal in that genus; certainly no other authors, 

 such as Drs. Ayres, Giinther, Gill, and Jordan, who have made 

 personal examinations of the various species, have mentioned it. 

 It would be interesting if some scientist, possessed of a series of 

 that genus, were to investigate the matter with a view to detecting 

 the existence of the same structure in iJnicinatichthy^, since, 

 should it be so discovered, the two genera would, I presume, have 

 to be removed from the BruiuJidce, or at least one of the structural 

 characters which separate that family from the Gadilcc. would 

 have to be modified. Pei'haps Dr Joixlan would examine one of 

 his examples of Dineniatichtlt.ys ventralis, and let us know whether 

 any such rudiment is present. • 



Dermatopsis macrodon, si^.nov. 

 D. 78. A. 52. 



Body elongate and compressed; the tail very strongly so, its 

 posterior portion tseniiform. Head moderate, with the cheeks 

 and opercles rather swollen, its length 4|^, the depth of the body 

 6| in the total length; depth of the head 1|, width of the head 

 ly, of the interorbital region 5|, diameter of the eye 7 in the 

 length of the head; snout blunt, its profile linear and slightly 

 oblique, covered with a loose skin, three-fourths of a diameter 

 longer than the eye; interorbital region convex, the supraciliary 

 bones slightly prominent. Mouth rather large, its cleft extending 

 to the vertical from the middle of the eye; the premaxillaries are 

 very little protractile and form the entire dentigerous surface of 

 the upper jaw; they are moderately broad anteriorly, but are 

 slender and rod-like on the sides; maxillary narrow in front, 

 greatly expanded behind, its lower border curved downwards and 



