102 



the tail shows an edge of sliin above and below without 

 rays. The mouth is cleft past the eye. The teeth are 

 stoutly subulate. The nasal ones taller than the rest. 

 Palatine ones biserial, the rows short. Mandibular ones 

 uniserial posteriorly, biserial in front, the rows farther 

 apart than the palatine ones. Vomerine teeth biserial in 

 front, uniserial posteriorly. It thus differs from pallens in 

 the vomerine teeth. Its colour is brown on the back, pale 

 beneath. Length 14^^ inches. To anus 5*3 inches. To 

 dorsal 19 inch. To gill-opening 5'55 inches. Length of 

 pectoral ^ an inch. Hab. Chinese Seas. 



Ophisurus hijala. Buchanan-Hamilton. 



Ophisurvs hijala, Bticli. -Hamilton, Ganges, p. 20 and 263, PI. 5, 

 f. .5. Hardw. Icon. ined. Brit. Mas. 300. 



This is a vermiform s]iecics, with a rather small, but not 

 a rudimentary, pectoral. The specimen described below 

 was bequeathed to the British Museum by General Hard- 

 wicke. 



The teeth are short, conico- subulate and acute, stoutest 

 on the nasal bone and in front of the mandible. There are 

 five on the nasal disk, viz., two on each side and an odd 

 one in front. The vomerine teeth are biserial, and com- 

 mence in contact with the nasal disk. The palatine teeth 

 are also biserial, and the mandibular ones biserial in front 

 but uniserial laterally. 



The head is small ; the body long, roundish and slender, 

 the conical tip of the tail being compressed, but yet convex 

 on the sides. The dorsal commences behind the tip of 

 the pectoral, and, like the anal, gradually lowers till very 

 near the tip of the tail, where they terminate. In Buchanan- 

 Hamilton's figure, the dorsal approaches a little nearer to 

 the tip than the anal, M'hich is usual in the genus, but this 

 part of the form could not be clearly made out in the spe- 

 cimen, owing to the lowness of the fins and their contrac- 

 tion in the spirit. The lateral line is marked by a groove, 

 which was probably a tube in the recent fish, with pores 

 at distant intervals descending from it. 



Length 14-8 inches. To anus 5-7 inches. To gill- 

 opening 1'15 inch. 



Buchanan-Hamilton describes this Ophisurus as being 

 of a whitish hue beneath and thickly covered with green 

 dots above, the dots descending below the lateral line be- 

 fore the vent, but terminating at it posteriorly. There is 

 also a series of pale round contiguous spots on the lateral 

 line before the vent. He states the rays as " P. 8 ; D. 

 from 230 to 240 ; A. 170." General Hardwicke's drawing 

 is coloured very pale green on the back, with minute 

 specks, whitish on the belly, and aurora-red on the vertical 

 fins. In the Retjiie Animal (ii. p. 351, note) the hijala of 

 Buchanan-Hamilton is quoted as a synonym of the Oph. 

 ophis, Bl. 1.54, but, evidently by a typographical error, the 

 line separating distinct species'haviug been omitted. 



Hab. India. General Hardwicke's specimen was pro- 

 cured from a salt-water lake. 



Ophisurus maculosus. Cuvier .? 



Ophisurus maculosus, Cuv. Eegne Anim. ii. p. 351, i 

 Ophisure ophis, Lacep. ii. PI. 6, tig. 2. 



The fish described below agrees with Lacepede's figure 

 above quoted, which does not represent the Miircetia ophis 

 of Bloch, but his description (ii. p. 196), which notices 

 " dents recourbees," most probably refers to Bloch's fish. 

 Not having seen an authenticated specimen of Cuvier's 

 maculosus, the only reason 1 have for supposing tliis to be 

 the same is that author's reference to Lacepede's figure. 

 It has much resemblance to the Ophisurus pardalis of 

 Valenciennes, and without a comparison of specimens, 

 which I have not the means of instituting, I cannot point 

 out the difl'erences clearly. They are, however, inhabitants 

 of different oceans. 



The teeth are all small, conic and acute ; eight stand ir- 

 regularly on the oval disk of the nasal bone. The vomerine, 

 palatine and mandibular teeth are biserial. Valenciennes 

 mentions " de dents obtuses sur plusieurs rangs" as existing 

 in his similarly-marked pardalis on the nasal bone and vo- 

 mer, or, as he names these bones, the chevron and body of 

 the vomer. The fish is slender, becoming compressed to- 

 wards the tip of the tail. The pectoral is of a semicircular 

 form, small and delicate, but easily visible to the naked 

 eye, and is supported by fifteen rays. Only twelve rays 

 are described as belonging to the pectoral of pardalis. 

 The distance from the tip of the snout to the gill-opening 

 is contained eight times in the distance between the snout 

 and anus, and eighteen times in the total length of the 

 fish, which places the gill-opening farther forward than in 

 pardalis. The dorsal begins at the occiput, and, in com- 

 mon with the anal, gradually lowers towards the end of the 

 tail. They terminate opposite to each other, very near the 

 extreme tip of the tail. The body is marked with round 

 brown spots, disposed in three rows in a quincnncial man- 

 ner. The spots of pardalis are more oblong and less 

 regular. 



Length 22 inches. To anus 9'25 inches. To gill-open- 

 ing r25 inch. 



Two specimens exist in the British Museum. 



Hab. Madagascar.' 



Ophisurus intertinctus. Richardson. 



The teeth generally are subulate and acute, more or less 

 slender, and mostly inclined backwards. The nasal disk 

 is set round the edge with five small ones, the odd one be- 

 ing at the point of the rather acute snout, and there are 

 three larger teeth on the mesial line, the foremost of which 

 is stoutly subulate, but not so tall as the second one. The 

 biserial vomerine teeth commence close to the nasal disk, 

 and run backwards for two-thirds of the way to the angle 

 of the mouth. The palatine teeth are biserial in the mid- 

 dle, where the inner row is composed of thirteen teeth, not 

 so tall as the outer ones. There are four tall ones anteri- 

 orly in a single row, and four small ones at the corner of 



