47 



The pylorus is at the eud of the stomach, next the head, 

 and the gut runs from thence straight to the anus, slender, 

 and without dilatations. Five caeca are clustered round 

 the pylorus, and tied down to that end of the stomach by 

 membrane. They are unequal in length, and the tip of 

 the longest passes the fundus of the stomach by half its 

 length. The whole intestinal canal is blackish. The liver, 

 on the contrary, is pale, and is divided transversely on the 

 surface, which is exposed, when the belly is opened, for 

 two-thirds of its thickness, into three unequal slices, that 

 lie upon each other like the leaves of a book. It covers 

 the stomach in that position, but not the tip of the long 

 caecum. 



DIMENSIONS 



OF THE SPECIMEN IN SPIRITS. 



Length from lip of snout to eud of caudal-fin 12-45 inches. 



„ „ edge of gill-flap 2-22 „ 



„ „ mouth 0'52 „ 



„ „ eye OSo „ 



„ „ vent 8!'2 „ 



„ „ base of caudal 11-20 „ 



Thickness, and also height of body 1-00 „ 



Height of tail 0.50 „ 



Distance between ventrals 0-25 „ 



Length of stomach 0-80 „ 



Width of ditto 0-40 „ 



The other specimens are a few inches longer. 

 Hab. West Australia and Port Nicholson, Cook's Strait, 

 New Zealand. 



Emmelichthys NiTiDUS. Richardson. 



Radii: — B. 7; D. 13j — 9 vel 10; A. SjlO; C. 17| ; 

 P. 19et 3; V. 1|5. 



Plate XXIX., figs. 7, 8. 



This fish is also a discovery of Sir George Grey's, in 

 West Australia. I feel at a loss as to the genus, or even 

 family, to which it properlj' belongs ; and the specimens 

 being merely dried skins, furnish external characters only. 

 Judging from these, I am inclined to think that it has the 

 nearest affinity with the Mtenidce, and with Ccesio particu- 

 larly ; but from this it differs in having seven gill-rays, a 

 deeply and widely-notched dorsal, scaly sheaths to the 

 fins of a different character, and the snout, gill-pieces, and 

 maxillaries, more extensively and closely scaly. It is not 

 without a general resemblance to some Ceniropristes of 

 the Arripis group, but here again the toothless roof of the 

 mouth, and the very peculiar arrangement of the scales on 

 the head, are sufficient to keep it distinct. It has little 

 resemblance to the true ScicBnidce, with double dorsals 

 and cancellated, convex skulls, while the absence of pores 

 on the lower jaw dissevers it from Hcemiilon, Prislipotna, 

 Diac/ramma, &c. In the extent of the scales of the 

 head, and some other characters, it resembles Glauco- 

 soMia, but diflers from it widely in general aspect, in 

 dentition, the protractile mouth, and many other particvi- 

 lars. The want of teeth is a significant character, which 

 it has in common with Maquaria, but the latter has only 

 five gill-rays. Under these circumstances, I have distin- 

 guished the fish by a new generic name, constructed, in 

 allusion to its peculiarly neat aspect, from e/^iUeXus concin- 



nu.s, and tx^u;. The three short, slender, lower rays of the 

 pectoral are not branched, but it differs in aspect, as well 

 as in the nature of its scales, from Latris, in which this 

 peculiarity in the form of the pectoral extends to a greater 

 number of rays. 



Emmelichthys. 



Forma corporis Smaris rel Caesionis. 



Os terminale, rede antrorsum protractile onmino eden- 

 tatum. Denies pharyngei setacei. Maxillae dense 

 squamoscB. Intermaxillaria labiaque nuda. 



Preorbitale disco undo, iiKeqiiali, semiovali, margine infe- 

 riori concavo vi.v creiiiilaio. 



Preopercidum paraholicum margine gracillimo tenuiter 

 sulcato rix crenulato. Suboperculum margine arcto, 

 submembranaceo tenuissimd costaio, hinc eiliato-den- 

 tato. Operculum emarginatum, anguUs planis acutis. 



Scapula squamiformis, eroso-deutata, sqitamis parvis 

 tecta. 



Apertiua branchialis ampla infra ante medios oculosjissa. 

 Radii branchiostegi septem. 



Pinnas ventrales sub anticd parte pinnm pectoris affixes. 

 Pinna dorsi langa eeque ac pinna ani in sulco squamoso 

 movens. Pars ejus spinosa esquamosa. In parte altera 

 et in pinna ani, tlieca squamosa fere ad apices poste- 

 riores altcnuatos excurrit. Pinnm omnes alicB usque 

 ad viedias squamosee. 



Anus pone medium piscem. 



Squamre clenoidetc, viediocres, caput undique prater dis- 

 cuin preurhilalix, labia, partes memhranaceas oris et 

 membranam hranchiostegam tegentes. Squamee genw 

 temporum operculorumque ordine quodam peculiari, 

 circulari concinniter itistructa. 



In general form this fish has much of the neat aspect of 

 a Smaris. The body tapers gradually to the base of the 

 caudal, the profile of the tail being merely a continuation 

 of the curve of the dorsal line, and the lateral line, which 

 is traced at three quarters of the height, runs parallel to 

 the back in a very flat arc, without the usual change to a 

 horizontal direction after passing the dorsal and anal fins.* 

 The profile descends considerably in a very slightly con- 

 vex line from the front of the dorsal to the end of the 

 snout, which is opposite to the pectoral fin, and below the 

 middle height of the fish. The head, when the jaws are 

 retracted, forms less than a fourth of the whole length of 

 the fish. Its height at the nape is between one-fourth and 

 one-fifth less than its length, and its thickness at the gill- 

 covers, where it is greatest, is equal to half its length. The 

 nape and hind head are much rounded transversely. The 

 large and perfectly circular eye is situated high up, without 

 touching the profile, one diameter of the orbit distant from 

 the upper lip and two from the gill-opening. The space 

 between the eyes is equal to one diameter, and is flattish. 

 The circumference of the orbit is scaly close to the ball, the 

 scales concealing the whole suborbitar chain, and covering 

 the base of the preorbitar. But the anterior disk of this bone 



* The specimens, being merely dried skins, do not show the thickness 

 of the body correctly, nor the comparative acuteness of the back and 

 belly, but the profile "seems to be completely preserved. 



