51 



one. The examination of the intestines was not satisfac- 

 tory, but the intestinal canal a])peared to be straight, with 

 a stomachal dilatation, and a small obtnse cajcum issuing 

 fiom the upper third or fourth of the canal. The orifice 

 of the anus is wrinkled anteriorly, and has a minute 

 papilla on its hinder border. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Length from end of snout to tip of tail 3-50 inches. 



„ „ anus 1-38 „ 



„ „ gill-openiiig 035 „ 



Some specimens do not measure above half this length. 



Hab. North-west coast of Australia. 



Cheilobuanchus aptenodytum. Richardson. 



Ch. Spec. Ch. concolor. 



Radii: — C. 7. 



This species possesses much interest, from its high 

 southern habitat, having been found above high-water 

 mark on Penguin Island, in seventy-two degrees of South 

 latitude. It has an uniform pale reddish-brown colour, 

 and its true tint may be, perhaps, changed, by the action 

 of the dung of the Penguins. It is, however, in a very 

 perfect state, and does not appear to have been submitted 

 to the process of digestion in the stomach of anj^ of these 

 birds. It is very similar in form to the preceding species, 

 and the vent has the same relative position. The body is, 

 however, less compressed, and is highest midway between 

 the tip of the snout and anus. The upper profile slopes 

 gradually from thence to the end of the snout, the top of 

 the head being broadish, and flatly rounded. Both the 

 back and belly are more obtuse than in the preceding spe- 

 cies, particularly the belly, whose thickness exceeds half 

 the height. The nostrils are situated as described above, 

 and the opening, which is over the angle of the eye, has a 

 tubular \\^. 



The gill-opening is more distant from the snout than in 

 the preceding species, and has a crescentic form, with the 

 curve forwards. Its hinder lip approaches to the head of 

 an arrow in form, its free ends forming the barbs. A thin 

 fold of the gill-membrane fits closely within, so as to close 

 the orifice perfectly. 



The little pits or scales are more readily seen in this 

 than in the other, being easily discovered by aid of a lens 

 with an inch focus. The teeth, disposed in a single row, 

 are truncated, and somewhat compressed or incisorial, and 

 a velum spreads over the roof of the mouth, from behind 

 the upper ones. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Length from end of snout to tip of tail 1-54 inches. 



„ „ anus 0-98 „ 



„ „ gill-opening 0'29 „ 



Height of body 0-28 „ 



PiiYMNOTnoNus HOOKERi. Richardson. 



Plate XXX., figs. 6, 7. 



The figure here introduced is copied from a pencil draw- 

 ing (No. 217) by Dr. Hooker, and we can give little more 

 information than the sketch conveys, the notes made at the 

 time by Dr. Hooker having been mislaid. The specimen 

 measured an inch and a quarter in length, but it has pe- 

 rished, not having been found in the collection. It is evi- 

 dently a Muraanoid fish, closely allied to the Congers, but 

 is remarkable in that family for the shortness of the belly, 

 the vent being only a fourth of the whole length distant 

 from the snout. The gill-oi^enings are lateral, but their 

 position will be unusual, if the oblong white mark before 

 and below them be meant to represent a pectoral fin. It 

 seems to be placed too far forward for that member. The 

 generic name is derived from the backward position of the 

 dorsal, from Trpuf^va, puppis, and oSovn, velum, i. e. mizen- 

 sail. The caudal and part of the anal are marked as 

 rayed, and a note subjoined to the drawing, states that 

 rays were not perceptible in other parts of the fins. It 

 would be unwise to attempt drawing up a generic charac- 

 ter, without further information, but it appeared advisable 

 to give the figure a name, for the sake of reference. Seve- 

 ral other variations in the distributions of the fins of the 

 Muranidai have been published since the appearance of 

 Cuvier's arrangement of the family in the Regne Animal, 

 among the most remarkable of which are the Rataiboura 

 of Gray, in Hardwicke's ' Illustrations of Indian Zoology,' 

 and the Uraptera of Riippell [Neue Wirblethiere). 



Leptocephalus altus. Richardson. 



Plate XXX., figs. 8—10. 



This figure is in the same predicament with the last- 

 mentioned, the specimen not having been found in the 

 collection. There can be no doubt about the genus, I 

 think, though the species differs from the European one, 

 in the greater depth of its body, and the verj' backward 

 position of its vent. When the fish was caught, it was 

 transparent, so that the course of the intestine along the 

 under edge of the body could be readily seen, and a sto- 

 machal dilatation was perceived at about a sixth of the 

 whole length behind the head ; but as soon as it was put 

 in spirits it changed throughout into opake white, and 

 rolled into a ball. Another species of the same relative 

 height with Leptocephalus morisii was taken by the Expe- 

 dition to the North of St. Helena ; and Cuvier mentions, in 

 the Regue Animal, that he is acquainted with several 

 species from the tropical seas, but we are not aware of 

 figures having been published of any but the European 

 one, which is common to the English Channel and to the 

 Mediterranean. We received a .specimen of it from the 

 temporary volcanic island off Sicily, named Graham's 

 Island, on which it was found dead. 



Hab. Dr. Hooker's drawing is numbered 166, and dated 

 April 11, but neither the year nor locality are noted. 



