60 



and is abruptly truncated, posteriorly, so that the upper and 

 hinder margins form a right angle. The opercle is armed with 

 an inconspicuous flattened spine ; preopercle entire. A band 

 of villiform teeth in the jaws without an outer enlarged row ; 

 a sub-cresentic patch on the vomer ; and a narrow band on the 

 anterior half of the palatine bones. Dorsal spines weak ; the 

 third the longest, three-sevenths of the length of the head : 

 anal fin commencing opposite to the middle of the intradorsal 

 space, with two semi-detached spines in front, the anterior of 

 which is the longer : ventral fins not reaching to the vent, and 

 throe-flfths of the length of the head : pectorals well developed, 

 pointed, five-sevenths of the same, and reaching to below the 

 origin of the second dorsal : caudal fin crescentic, the middle 

 rays being considerably shorter than the marginal rays, six 

 and three-fifths in the total length. Head entirely covered 

 with scales, which are much smaller and more finely ciliated 

 than those of the body. Colors — Upper half of head and body 

 deep purple, lower half pearly white, the line of dema? cation 

 on the body being well defined, biit above the vent distinctly 

 scalloped, while on the sides of the head there is an intermediate 

 zone freckled with white and violet ; two rather obscure black 

 bands run obliquely backwards and doTV^nwards from the 

 postero-inferior margin of the eye ; isthmiis and edges of the 

 lower lip purple ; dorsal fins hyaline, the rays only freckled 

 with purple ; npper half of the pectorals purplish, dotted 

 with white ; ventral and anal fins white ; caudal purple with 

 two transverse white bars on the posterior half. 



PtE-DESORIPTIOX OF AXOMALOPS PALPEBRATUS, 

 (BOUU.) 



V,\' .T. Douglas Ogilbv. 



To Capt. Braithwaite, of the Mission schooner " Dayspring," 

 the Museum is indebted for two examples of this very 

 rare and valuable deep sea fish ; so little known is it that 

 according to Dr. Gunther (Voy. " Challenger" I.e. infra), who 

 states that he has never personally had an opportunity of 

 examining specimens, only six examples have been recorded, 

 four of which are from. Amboiua and Manado, one from 

 the Fiji Islands, and one from the Panmoto Archipelago ; 

 these specimens therefore, which w-ere obtained at the New 

 Hebrides, raise the number known to exist in various 

 Museums to eight, and help to shew the wide geographical 

 range of this interesting fish. The same authority also 



