NO. 1308. HEMIBRANCHIATE FISHES— JORDAN AND STARK'S. (53 



Northern Japan; one species known, well separated from the Cali- 

 fornian AulorJi i/n chits flavidus^ by the row of lateral spines; the Hn 

 rays about the .same. 



(orvA-Os-, tube; ix^^vg^ fish.) 



4. AULICHTHYS JAPONICUS Brevoort. 



AuUchthys japoiiicvs (Brevoort), Gill, Proi-. Acad. Nat. 8c'i. Phila., 1862, p. 234; 



Shimoda. — Jordan and Snyder, Check List Fishes Japan, 1901, p. 60; 



Yokohama. 

 Aulorkynclvus japuiiicux Steindachnkk Ichth. Beitr., X, 1881, p. 1, pi. v, tig. 1; 



Yokohama. 

 Fwlulariichi' f Genus? )Si)ecies? Ishikawa, Prel. Cat., 1897, p. 31; Nos. 551, 



552; Boshu. 



The following' description is from a specimen from Tokj^o, 15 cm. 

 long-. 



Head 3f in length; depth '2 in snout. Dorsal XXV-9; anal 1-10. 

 Lateral plates 55. Postcaudal plates 13. Ej^e -1 in snout, 2 in post- 

 orbital part of head. 



The mouth is small, the maxillary is contained 2^ times in the man- 

 dible, which is about half the length of the snout. From the l)ack- 

 ward-extending process from the maxillary a shallow channel runs 

 backward on top of the snout to within a distance of the eye equal to 

 the diameter of the eye. From the supraorbital rim a short channel 

 runs forward to each side of the termination of the anterior median 

 channel. The interorbital space is slightly convex and somewhat 

 rugose. The length of the opercle is twice that of the rest of the 

 postorbital part of the head. 



The pectoral fin is inserted a distance equal to the length of the 

 opercle from the edge of the opercle. The lower rays are the longest; 

 their length is equal to their distance from the posterior orbital margin. 

 The front of the dorsal is midway between the base of the caudal and 

 the middle of the opercle. The anal is directly under the soft dorsal and 

 about equal to it in length. Where the anal and the dorsal are depressed 

 the tips of the longest rays just reach to the base of the last ra}". The 

 length of the caudal equals the length of the postorbital part of the 

 head. The lower edge of the shoulder girdle is rough and is only 

 covered bj' thin skin; it appears as a line of dermal bone and runs back 

 nearlj^ to a similar but wider line formed by the edge of pubic bones. 

 The length of the ventrals equals the diameter of the eye. 



Caudal slightly dusky, other fins colorless; top of head dark; oper- 

 cles dusky above with fine l)rown points; a dark brown streak runs 

 along prcorbital region to middle of e^^e. 



We have .specimens from Tokyo, Matsushima, and Boshu. The 

 species is not rare in northern Japan on sandy shores. 



