83 



edge, with a while stripe beneath it. The white stripe 

 approaches the edge of the fin at intervals, so as to give it 

 somewhat of a banded appearance when folded. Length 

 15 inches. Length from snont to vent 7 inches. Length 

 from ditto to gill-opening 19 inch. 

 Hab. Gulf of Mexico. 



MUR^NA PUNCTATA. Bl. Schn. 



Gymnothnrax punctatus, Bl. Schn. p. 52t). Calamaia patim, Russell, 

 xxxii. 



A dried, overstuffed, and not quite perfect example of a 

 Murwiia exists in the British Museum, which possesses 

 the characters ascribed by Schneider to pnnctata.* It 

 was purchased from a dealer, and its place of capture can- 

 not be ascertained. Russell's figure is a pretty good re- 

 presentation of the fish. 



Teeth in a single series on the several bones. On the 

 border of the nasal bone there are fourteen, which are 

 compressed, with acute edges and points. Three tall, 

 subulate, slender ones on the mesial line of the disk, and 

 five short, slender, and very acute ones on the line of the 

 vomer, the series commencing at some distance from the 

 nasal disk. Ten or eleven on each palatine bone shorter, 

 and scarcely wider than the nasal ones, reflex, more 

 closely set, and diminishing in size towards the corner of 

 the mouth. Eleven or twelve lateral teeth on the mandible 

 closely set, equal in size, compressed, acute and reflex, 

 with two much stouter and a little taller widely set in the 

 same series on each side of the symphysis. 



Eye rather large, over the middle of the gape of the 

 mouth, which is of moderate size. Nose straight, with 

 the hinder part of the head apparently rising suddenly. 

 Posterior nostrils not tubular. Dorsal commencing a little 

 before the gill-opening. Anus in the dried specimen very 

 little before the middle of the fish. 



In the spotting this Murceiia most resembles parointia, 

 but the spots are smaller, more numerous and less regidar, 

 several of them in various parts being oblong. They have 

 their borders similarly darkened, are about the size of par- 

 tridge shot, and are pretty i-egularly scattered over the 

 head, body, belly and fins ; towards the top of the tail 

 they are smaller and less crowded. The rays of the dor- 

 sal are short at the commencement, and increase gradually 

 to opposite the vent, where they are in the specimen here 

 described about an inch long, and they lose little of their 

 length till within three inches of the tip of the tail. 



Length .34-25 inches. Distance from tip of snout to 

 anus 16'75 inches. Distance from ditto to gill-opening 

 4'2 inches. 



Hab. Indian Ocean. 



* Schneider's account of the species is " Gymn. punctatus, ( Dentium. 

 palatinorum longa seriej corpore comprcsso, colore brunnen, maculis parvis 

 auranliacis, ovalibus, limbo brunneo, pinnA dorsi ante spiracula exortd, 

 rictu angusliore antecedentibus, naribus tubnlosis, maxilla superiore lon- 

 giore. Lonyus 2\ ped. Variat punctis fiavis ; b. punctis et macvlis 

 brunneis. 



MUR.ENA SIMILIS. 



Spec, altera, kc. Foister, J. R. Descr. An. p. 18.3. 

 " Muroenophis. Faun. Jap." 



Nasal teeth eight or ten, moderately tall and very acute, 

 with three taller and more slender teeth on the mesial line 

 of the disk; succeeded by eight or nine short, acute vo- 

 merine teeth, standing in a single series. The palatine 

 teeth, also uniserial, are reflex, and more closely set than 

 the nasal ones, but not broad enough to be termed lance- 

 olate : all are acutely two-edged towards the tips. The 

 mandible is armed by ten lateral teeth, similar to the nasal 

 ones, but taller, also by two stoutly subulate ones on each 

 side near the symphysis, standing in the same row. 



The gape of the mouth is rather large, the eye mode- 

 rately so, the posterior nostril is not tubular, and the dor- 

 sal commences before the gill-opening (about half an inch 

 in the specimen described). The anus is situated about 

 one-sixteenth of the whole length before the middle of the 

 fish. 



Colour pale wood-brown, finely mottled with irregular, 

 star-like specks, of dark hair-brown. The specks are 

 scattered generally over the ground tint, and are also 

 densely aggregated in patches, producing about twenty or 

 more large spots, which run along the sides, and ex- 

 tend to the dorsal fin. A narrow line along the middle 

 of the throat connects a series of the small specks, 

 and the folds of the gill-membrane are traced on each 

 side by similar lines. The anal fin is marked out by a 

 black line surmounted with a white edging. The dorsal 

 is not so edged. Lining of the mouth blackish and mot- 

 tled. Length 24 inches. To anus 10-5 inches. To gill- 

 opening 27. 



Hab. Polynesia. Red Sea. Sea of Japan. 



This Munoia has a pretty close resemblance to M. va- 

 riegaia, but the spots do not branch off in a radiated 

 way, and the dentition is widely dissimilar. It agrees in 

 its large gape, sharp teeth, five parallel dark lines on the 

 gill-membranes, and in colours with the specimen obtain- 

 ed at Otaheite by Forster, and noticed after his account 

 of Echidna rariegata. It is probable that the native 

 name of "Boohee" is restricted to this species, as the 

 name of "Pipiro" only, is written on George Forster's 

 drawing of M. variegata. Riippell's plate of M. ophis 

 has a still closer resemblance in colour and markings to 

 similis than variegata has, but the shortness of the gape 

 distinguishes ophis from the present species. The speci- 

 men in the British Museum, from which the above de- 

 scription was taken, is from Japan, and is marked "Muree- 

 nophis. Faun. Jap." Not knowing what appellation the 

 authors of the Faima Japonica mean to give it, I have 

 termed it similis, to denote its general close resemblance 

 to tnriegala and ophis. I would gladly have adopted 

 Forster's name echidna as a specific appellation for this 

 species, but it has been applied by Schneider to variegata, 

 and would lead to confusion if used to designate another 

 species. Lacepede's Murcenophis echidna, which, he 

 says, has a very large gape, bristling with many teeth, 

 cannot be variegata. He refers to Ellis, in Cook's third 



p 2 



