109 



CoNGRUs LEPTura's. Richardson. 



Congrus Icpturus, Richardson, Ichlli. Voy. of Suliihuv, p. 10(5, PI. 

 oti, fig.'l-(i 



Teeth acicular. The nasal ones disposed in two vows 

 of five each, the posterior outer one on each side being 

 the tallest. The vomer is armed in front by two teelh, 

 like the latter one, one before the other. The palatine teeth 

 are biserial, the rows being regular, with a space between 

 them, and the inner row rather taller and abutting against 

 the nasal disk before the vomerine teeth. Mandibular teeth 

 like the palatine ones, and biserial, but at the symphysis 

 there are three rows, the posterior row being formed by 

 four acicular teeth behind the other two rows. 



Tail tapering and slender, and more acute than in most 

 congers. Lower jaw nearly as long as the obtuse snout. 

 Dorsal commencing over the axilla of the pectoral. Gill- 

 openings rather large, the space between them on the 

 throat about equal to the length of one opening. 



Colour bluish-gray above, pale or whitish below ; the fins 

 pale and edged with black. 



Length 9 inches. To gill-opening TOo inch. To anus 

 2"7 inches. To dorsal I'lo inch. 



Hab. China Seas. 



Congrus habenatus. Richardson. 



Radii:— B. 8; D. 184; A. l-2-2; = .306; P. 10. 



Plate L., figs. 1—5. 



This species differs from the preceding ones in its denti- 

 tion, the teeth on the roof of the mouth being fitted for 

 crushing or grinding the food. 



Body thicker than the head, nearly cylindrical, its height 

 exceeding its transverse diameter only by one-fifth (fig. 5), 

 the compi-ession augmenting rapidly betvveen the anus and 

 tip of the tail. The muscular flakes are very visible 

 through the smooth, shining, silvery skin ; and the lateral 

 line, which gradually descends from the nape to the middle 

 height, which it attains some way behind the anus, is 

 marked out by a series of pores, commencing at the 

 occiput. A depression, descending from the occiput, se- 

 parates the muscles of the cheek from the gill-cover. The 

 eye is large, encroaches on the profile, and is contained 

 rather less than four times and a half in the distance be- 

 tween the end of the snout and the gill-opening. The 

 space between the eyes is less than the vertical diameter 

 of the eye-ball. Snout rather broad and obtuse. A mesial 

 fold of loose skin, uniting with the upper lip, gives a 

 bridled appearance to the snout. The posterior nostril is 

 open, and is situated just before the eye; the anterior one 

 is a short tube, placed on one side of the tip of the snout. 

 The under jaw is shorter than the upper one, and the gape 

 of the mouth is cleft to beneath the centre of the eye. 

 The upper lip, commencing just behind the tubular an- 



terior nostril, runs back to the angle of the mouth, where 

 it curves over the end of the lower lip to be inserted into 

 the lower jaw. It is continuous with the integuments 

 which cover the preorbitar and suborbitar chain, and is 

 separated interiorly by a deep furrow from an inner lip or 

 swelling gum, which runs along the base of the jialatine 

 teeth. Three small cartilaginous bodies are imbedded in 

 that part of it which is attached to the preorbitar, and are 

 seemingly connected with pores on the edge of the lip. 

 The \mder lip is broader and folds back on the sides of the 

 lower jaw, but runs evenly to the roots of the teeth, with- 

 out any interior furrow as in the upper lip. Conspicuous 

 pores exist on the end and top of the snout, on the upper 

 lip, the suborbitar chain, across the head behind the orbits, 

 on the hinder part of the mandible, and across the occiput, 

 where they connect the lateral lines with each other. 



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

 stand in a small, dense, triangular cluster, on the jjoint of 

 the jaw, anterior to the apex of the mandible when the 

 mouth is closed. They are followed, without an interval, 

 by four rows of flatly-rounded vomerine teeth, the middle 

 rows containing the largest ones. The vomerine teeth 

 extend as far back as the front of the eye. The palatine 

 bones are armed by an even, outer series of somewhat 

 subulate, but not veiy acute teeth, with interior, rounded, 

 granular ones considerably lower, and about three deep, 

 but not ranged in determinate rows. The mandibular 

 teeth are similar to the palatine ones, but the dental surface 

 increases gradually in width from the corner of the mouth 

 to the symphysis, where the teeth are five or six deep (figs. 

 4 and 5). Tongue smooth. 



The distance between the end of the snout and the gill- 

 opening is equal to one-sixth of the total length, and the 

 anus is a little anterior to the middle of the fish. The 

 dorsal commences over the axil of the pectoral or lower 

 angle of the gill-opening, and its rays are more delicate 

 and crowded towards the end of the tail, where it unites 

 with the anal. The pectoral is rather small. 



The stomach is ccecal, wide and obtuse, and, in the in- 

 dividual here described, was completely filled by a large 

 shrimp, which was doubled up, and but little broken. It 

 has no small appendix such as exists at the fundus of the 

 stomach of the Congrus vulgaris. The gut goes off from 

 a funnel-like recess at the upper end of the stomach, and 

 descends straight to the anus, being bound to the stomach 

 by membrane as far as that viscus extends. The 

 stomach and rather more than half the gut were of a pur- 

 plish-black colour, apparently proceeding from their con- 

 tents, the under part of the canal, below the fundus of the 

 stomach, being pale. The air-bladder, long and slender, 

 descends as low as the anus : its lower end tapers, and its 

 upper one divides into two tapering branches, one of the 

 branches being continuous with the tube which communi- 

 cates with the cesophagus, The heart and pericardium 

 have a shining nacry appearance, and are connected to 

 each other by strong membranous bands. This individual 

 was killed when spawning, its belly being full of roe, and 

 the eggs were in the act of passing through the distended 

 anus. 



Length 12-7 inches. To anus 57 inches. To gill- 



