76 BULLETIN 189, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



The seemingly important differences are as follows: The posterior 

 angle of the pectoral fin is less strongly pointed, and its posterior 

 margin is notably less deeply concave in the Peruvian than in the 

 California fish; the distance from the mouth to the last gill slit is 

 contained somewhat less than 1.5 times in distance from the last gill 

 slit to the vent in the Peruvian skate and nearly 2.0 times in the Cali- 

 fornia specimens. Other proportional differences that may be signifi- 

 cant are the following in which the ones applying to the Peruvian 

 example in each instance are given first: Length of disk, 1.95, 1.6, 

 and 1.7 in its width; length anterior to first gill slit 2.6, 2.9, and 3.05 

 in length anterior to vent; interorbital 5.05, 5.4, and 5.9 in length 

 anterior to vent; preoral length of snout 6.1, 5.35 and 5.4 in length 

 anterior to vent; eyeball 2.8, 2.0, and 2.05 in interorbital. 



Range. — Known only from Peru. 



Family CALLORYNCHIDAE: Elephantfishes 



This family is readily distinguished from the other chimaeras by 

 the peculiarly developed proboscis, which is produced into a leaf- 

 shaped flexible appendage, the ''leaf" being placed at a right angle 

 to the rest of the proboscis, hanging in front of the mouth and 

 apparently shielding it. Body compressed, tapering posteriorly, the 

 tail becoming slender; first dorsal near occiput with a strong spine; 

 second dorsal rather far removed from the first; caudal with a long 

 upper lobe, with or without a filament, the lower lobe generally little 

 produced; anal small, placed near lower lobe of caudal and behind 

 second dorsal; pectorals large, free; vomerine and palatine laminae 

 each provided with one or two tritors; lateral line present; male with 

 simple claspers, each with strong frontal and pelvic tenacula. 



Only one genus is known. 



Genus CALLORYNCHUS Gronovius, 1763 



The characters of the genus are those of the family. 



CALLORYNCHUS CALLORYNCHUS (Linnaeus) 

 Nato; Peje-gallo 



Chimaera callorynchus Linnaeus, 1758, p. 236, after Callorynchus Gronovius, 

 1754, p. 59, tab. 4, figs. 1 and 2, nonbinomial, "Habitat in mari Aethiopico" 

 (Gronovius did not give a locality, however, in the work cited. In his "Cata- 

 logue of Fishes," published posthumously, and referred to below, in which he 

 definitely cited his earlier work, he gave the habitat as "Mari Chiliense ac 

 Pacifico." The last-mentioned habitat apparently may be accepted as the 

 type locality). 



Callorynchus elephaniinus Gronovius, edited by Gray, 1854a, p. 15, "Habitat in 

 Mari Chiliense ac Pacifico" (among other references is one to his earlier 

 work cited above). 



Callorhynchus callorhynchus Starks, 1906, p. 764, Callao, Peru. — Garman, 1911, 

 p. 98, "Off the coasts of Chile and Peru" (synonymy; description). — Ever- 

 mann and Radcliffe, 1917, p. 18, La Ventanilla, Peru. — Fowler, 1941a, 

 p. 228 (references). 



