48 



is naked and uneven, from the prominence of canals in tlie 

 bone, whose apertures show through the integument as it 

 dries. The fore part of the bone is semi-oval,andits infe- 

 rior edge, where it joins the fest of the suborbitar chain, 

 is widely concave, with a slight waving, or crenature. 

 The nostrils are two small, round, approximated openings, 

 in a short and naiTow scaleless space above and near to 

 the anterior canthus of the eye. 



The mouth is situated at the extremity of the head, and, 

 though differently constructed, has much resemblance to 

 that of a Coregoniis. Its orifice, moderately open when 

 viewed in front, is semi-ovate, the horizontal lower jaw 

 being narrower at the tip than the arch of the intermaxil- 

 laries. The latter bones are protractile, their pedicles 

 being longer than their oral limbs, and reaching, when 

 retracted, nearly to the posterior part of the orbits. The 

 maxillaries have a broad disk, rounded at the end, and 

 densely covered with scales, nearly equalling those of the 

 cheek in size. The end of the bone passes the corner of 

 the mouth, plays over the broad, scaleless coracoid process 

 of the post-mandibularbone, and reaches under the anterior 

 third of the eye. The narrow, sloping, posterior edge of 

 the maxillary only is received under the preorbitar. The 

 imder surface of the lower jaw is closely covered with 

 minute scales. The jaws and roof of the mouth are 

 wholly destitute of teeth, and the narrow, but rather free 

 tongue is also quite smooth. The pharyngeal teeth, above 

 and below, are fine, setaceous, and crowded, and the outer 

 branchial arch is fringed with a single row of long, com- 

 pressed, subulate rakers ; the other rakers are short, semi- 

 lanceolate, and all are rough, with very minute teeth. 



The side of the head is convex, the summit of the con- 

 vexity being at the temples. It is densely scaly, so that 

 no bone is seen. The edge of the preoperculum is curved 

 parabolicallj', and its border is faintly furrowed, producing 

 slight crenatures, but the scales come to the very edge, 

 concealing the inequalities. The disk of the bone is broad, 

 exceeding the width of the cheek, and being inclined in 

 a different direction, its inner edge shows through the 

 scales. The interoperculum is also broad, being widest 

 opposite the bend of the preoperculum, where it is rounded, 

 and it also is scaly to the edge.* There are eighteen or 

 twenty rows of scales between the orbit and corner of the 

 preoperculum, and half as many on the disk of the inter- 

 operculum. 



The gill-cover is very obtuse, with scarcely any soft 

 border. The operculum is situated high up, in respect of 

 the curve of the preoperculum, and is indented by a semi- 

 elliptical notch, with acute corners. This notch is filled 

 with integument, clothed with small scales. The suboper- 

 culum slopes downwards, and a little forwards, to meet the 

 interoperculum, but not being so broad, there is a slight 

 notch at the point of junction. Its edge is rather con- 

 cave, and is bordered by a narrow membrane, which is 

 crossed by fine ribs in a pectinated manner. These are 

 scarcely perceptible to the naked eye, and the very narrow, 

 transparent edge is the only part of the gill-cover which is 

 not scaly. The scapula is visible at the upper angle of 



* 111 Casio, the circumference of the orbit, the suborbitars, the snout, 

 interval Lelween the eyes, and disk of the pvcopercuhim, are scaleless. 



the gill-opening, in form of a large scale, witii a toothed 

 edge, and its disk is covered by scales, smaller than the 

 others in the neighbourhood. A row of scales, having 

 their disks strongly impressed by five or six furrows, 

 crosses the nape in the same way as the unctial circle of 

 Cmfsio ; but in Emmelichthi/s these scales are not very ob- 

 vious to the eye, and the smaller scales of the top of the 

 head pass gradually into the larger ones of the body. 

 The gill-opening is large, and extends from the scapula 

 perpendicularly, to near the ventral line, and then hori- 

 zontally forwards to opposite the middle of the orbit. The 

 membrane is sustained by seven thin flat rays, of which 

 the three lower ones are shorter, and graduated. The 

 fourth ray projects as far back as the remaining three, 

 which are more curved upwai-ds, an arrangement that 

 gives a peculiar squareness to the posterior edge of the 

 membrane. The humeral chain of bones is clothed with 

 scales up to the inner edge. 



The lateral line is composed of ninety-six scales up to 

 the base of the caudal, there being a forked patch of 

 smaller scales covering the middle rays to near their tips, 

 not included in the reckoning. Each of the scales of the 

 lateral row is marked with two little pits at the end of a 

 short tube. A vertical line contains about thirty scales, of 

 which only eight are above the lateral line, and they are 

 of rather smaller size than those lower on the sides. The 

 scales are truncated at tlie base, furrowed and crenated, 

 and ciliated at the tip, and roughened by radiating rows of 

 grains or woi-n teeth to near the middle of the disk. Fi- 

 gure 8 shows a scale from below the lateral line. A patch 

 of small scales covers the bones which support the pectoral 

 rays, extending in a semi-circular manner over part of the 

 fin, and delicate scales extend half way up these fins, as 

 well as up the ventrals. A long tapering scale lies over 

 the ventrals, and there probably existed one between these 

 fins, but if so, it has been destroyed in the preparation of 

 the specimen. The spinous part of the dorsal moves in a 

 furrow, composed of a single row of oblique narrow scales, 

 and a dense patch of scales runs obliquely over the base 

 of the soft rays, up nearly to the ti}3s of the posterior ones. 

 A similar scaly band covers the anal fin to an equal extent. 

 On the caudal the scales extend between the rays to two- 

 thirds of their length, and a more dense scaly patch, al- 

 ready noticed, covers part of the middle rays, as well as 

 their membrane. 



The pectorals, triangular and pointed, but not falcate, 

 nor so large as is usual with the Sparoids, are attached 

 obliquely below the middle of the height. The fifth ray 

 is the longest, and the lowest three, which are very short, 

 are not branched like the others. The ventrals, attached 

 under the fore third of the pectorals, have a slender spine, 

 two-thirds of the length of the branched rays. They do 

 not reach beyond the pectorals. The dorsal spines are 

 slender. The first one stands a little posterior to the 

 axilla of the ventrals, or over the middle of the pectorals, 

 and, with the two following ones, is graduated. The 

 fourth is the tallest, being about half as high as the body, 

 the next five decrease rapidly in height, and, at the same 

 time, beconie more remote from each other than the ante- 

 rior ones. The remaining four also become shorter in 

 succession, but much more gradually, and in our speci- 



