''^isaL'''] PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 703 



The Spines iutoiveuinji: between the anterior and posterior elavated 

 portions of tho dorsal api)ear to be very slender and short, and it is pos- 

 sible that two or three may have been overlooked, and that also anal 

 spines may have been passed over. For the present, at least, it is un- 

 certain whether there is more than one species of Gnathanncanthus, and 

 possibly, even the doubt is against the probability of there beinp more 

 than one. This is a problem for theTasmanian and Victorian natural 

 ists to elucidate. 



III. 



The color of the Gnathnnacanthus Grctzii was described by Hleeker 

 as brownish red; of Jloloxenuti cutaneus l)y (iiinther as "uniform 

 whitish (in spirits);" and o^ Beridia Jlava by Castelnau as "entirely of 

 a beautiful orange color." Mr. Johnston has informed us that in //. 

 Giuitherif "the color, when fresh, is a uniform deep purple, some- 

 times more or less mai'bled with yellow, which probably ciianges to 

 white inspirits." In this connection, a statement by Castelnau is es- 

 pecially' noteworthy. "Having received it in a dry state (hej put it in 

 warm water to extend some parts of the tins ; the water became almost 

 immediately of the same beautiful yellow color as the lish." It there- 

 fore seems that the pigments of the tish are soluble, as are those of the 

 feathers of certain birds — esi)ecially the musophagids — and conse- 

 (juently discrepancies as to shade of color are of little account. 



IV. 



The facts respecting the history are summarized in the following 

 synonymy : 



GNATH AN ACANTHUS 

 Si/nonomii. 



-dnathanacanthus Bleeker, Verband. K. Akad. Wet., {Am.stonlaiu), v. 2. Vi»,Hciien 



Van Diemeusland, p. 'Jl, j>l. f. 1, IbSf). 

 =Holoxenns GiintiuT, Ami. aud Mag. Nat. Hist. (1), v. 17, p. .i'Xi, 187r. ; .Mai lt;i.v, I'mc 



Linn. Sou. N. S. Wal.-:^, v. .-., p. 43-», Ie81 ;" (Cat., p. l.'K) 

 ^lieridia Castelnau, Proc. Linn. Soc, N. S. Wahvi, v. '2, p. 'iJlt, IhTH; Matloay I'roc. 



Linn. Soc, N. S. Walos, v. o, p. 592, 1"<'-1 ; t (Cat., p. 227. ) 

 = B<ni(Ua Cast«luaii, Proc. Linn. Soc, N. S. Wales, v. 2. pi. 2. 



The genus is not mentioned by Dr. (liintlier in his liitrodu«tion. 



V. 



Which of the propositions as to the relationships of (imithann- 

 cantfius is true ? Is it one of the ,Scorpfvni(ia\ or one of the Cirritida- — 

 or is it the representative of an independent family T 



The plates accompanying Bleeker's and Castelnau's memoirs show 

 characters quite diflerent from those manifest in any Scorpa-nids or 



•Referred to the S')orpivnid(f, t Referred to the Coltina. 



