198 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. 



Pectoral broad, longer than the eye : no filamentary caudal. Dorsal 



and anal fins indistinct, better defined posteriorly. Translucent; 



small black spots form a band on the nape and a similar one on 



the throat. 



Total length 200 mm. 



Height of body 13 ,, 



Length of head 15 ,, 



,, snout 4 ,, 



AuLOSTOMUS CHiNENSis, Liutueus. 



Mr. T. R. Icely obtained a nice example in December, 1892. It 

 measures 560 mm. in length, and has the following characters : — 



D. xii. 25. A. 25. P. 16. V. 6. C. 15 + 2. 



Length of head 3-2, height of body 11-0 in the total length, 

 exclusive of caudal. Eye 30 in the postorbital part of tlie head. 

 Lower jaw prominent, with the barbel one-half longer than the 

 diameter of the eye. Premaxillary slender ; maxillary narrow 

 anteriorly, greatly broadened behind, its posterior margin notched. 

 Upper jaw edentulus ; lower jaw with a small patch of minute 

 teeth in each ramus. Caudal pedicle equal in length to the dis- 

 tance of the posterior margin of the opercle from the centre of 

 the eye. Ventrals short, equal to the least depth of the snout ; 

 they extend to the vent, which is situated midway between the 

 hinder edge of the opercle and the base of the caudal rays. 



When freshly obtained, the colour was pink and the fins yellow. 

 The body is longitudinally streaked, the streaks disposed both 

 above and below the lateral line ; there is a deep black bar across 

 the centre of the maxillary, and a narrower one passing through 

 the nostrils to the eye ; a black spot at the base of each ventral 

 fin, and another on the upper caudal rays. The bases of the 

 dorsal and anal fins are black, and this colour is continued up the 

 front margin of the dorsal; the portion of the body between these 

 fins is very dark, relieved by two of the white body streaks in a 

 line with the upper and lower margins of the caudal pedicel, each 

 streak with two ganglion-like spots; two similar but fainter spots 

 exist at the bases of the fins. There are also three pairs of spots 

 on the pedicel, forming transverse bands. 



Drs. Jordan and Evermann, in describing the family Aulo- 

 stomidse, write*: — "A single genus, with two species, found in 

 tropical seas." This should surely read "three species," for they 

 mention A. macidatus and A. cinerPAis, neither of which is synony- 

 mous with A. ckinensis, admitted as the type of the genus. 



* Jordan and Evermann— Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus.,47, 1896, p. 754. 



