FISHES OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AND ADJACENT SEAS 83 



gill opening; ventral 1 in head; claspers long, reach back far as ends 

 of ventrals, each lobe with 2 curved compressed attenuated plates, 

 each of outer with curved denticle-like point. 



Back brown, under surface brownish white. Back, sides, and fins 

 with irregidar large blackish brown irregular spots, mostly rounded. 

 Above depressed pectoral large black rounded blotch, with narrow 

 whitish or grayish edge. Paired fins brownish above, whitish or pale 

 below. Occasionally several dark or pale blotches on ventrals below. 



India, East Indies, Northwest Australia, Northern Territory, 

 Queensland, New South Wales, Melanesia. Specimen in the Queens- 

 land Museum from North West Islet. 



U.S.N.M. No. 40018. Port Moresby, New Guinea. Australian Museum. 



Length, 400 mm. 

 U.S.N.M. No. 40024. Port Moresby. Australian Museum. Length, 735 mm. 

 U.S.N.M. No. 40025. "Port Jackson" (doubtless erroneous for Port Moresby). 



Australian Museum. Length, 595 mm. 



HEMISCYLLIUM TRISPECULAKE Richardson 



HemiscylUum trispeculare Richaedson, Icones piscium, p. 5, pi. 1, fig. 2, 1843 

 (type locality: Turtle Island, Gulf of Carpentaria) ; Voy. Erebus and 

 Terror, Fishes, p. 43, pi. 28, figs. 3-7. 1846 (Northwest coast of Australia).— 

 DuMfiKJX, Rev. Mag. Zool., ser. 2, vol. 5, p. 120, 1853 (compiled). — Bleekeb, 

 Versl. Konig, Akad. Wet. Amsterdam, vol. 16, p. 362, 1864 (Grand Key, 

 Moluccas). — DuiiEKiL, Hist. Nat. Elasmobr., vol. 1, p. 326, 1865 (com- 

 piled). — GtJNTHER, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 3, vol. 20, p. 67, 1867 

 (Turtle Island. Cape York). — Garman, Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 36, p. 

 45, 1913 (Northwest Australia). — Whitley, Mem. Queensland Mus., vol. 8, 

 pt. 2, p. 128, 1925 (reference).— FowLEE, Proc. 4th (1929) Pacific Sci. Congr., 

 Java, p. 4S6, 1930 (reference). — Whitley, Rec. Australian Mus., vol. IS, 

 p. 321, pi. 36, figs. 2a-2e, 1932 (Port Darwin). 



CMloscylllum trispeculare Gunther, Cat. Fishes British Mus., vol. 8, p. 411, 

 1870 (type).— Macleay, Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales, vol. 6, p. 363, 

 1881 (compiled).— Regan. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1908, p. 359 (type). — 

 Ogilby and McCullooh, Journ. Proc. Roy. Soc. New South Wales, vol. 42, 

 p. 293, 1909 (Port Darwin). — Ogilby, Mem. Queensland Mus., vol. 5, p. 77, 

 1916 (reference). — McCullooh and Whitley, Mem. Queensland Mus., 

 vol. 8, pt. 2, p. 128, 1925 (reference). — Paradice and Whitley, Mem. 

 Queensland Mus., vol. 9, p. 96, 1927 (Knight Reef, Clarence Straits, North 

 Australia). 



Depth 74/^ to subcaudal origin; head 7i/4, width ll^. Snout 2 in 

 head; eye 5, 2% in snout; dental width 4, labial folds on both jaws 

 around angles; teeth small, trilobate; nostrils small, with nasoral 

 groove, front valves reaching mouth, with cirri and hind valves 

 with fold on outer side of nostril continued in fold on outer side of 

 groove with short free end at mouth angle; interorbital low. Last 

 gill opening largest, fourth and fifth closer, third to fifth above 

 pectoral base. Spiracle small, below hind eye edge. 



Scales small, partly triangular, with median keel. 



