3. TKICHIITRUS. 



347 



bones to that we have observed in several of the neural and inter- 

 neural spines of Lepklopus caudatus. The structui'e of the skull is 

 extremely similar to that in Aphanopus and Lepidopus, but differs 

 from the latter in the following points :— 



The two ridges on the interorbital space, which converge poste- 

 riorly and form an acute prominence in the middle of the crown of 

 the head, begin above the anterior part of the orbit, and meet at 

 an angle of about 30°, 



The palatines are provided with a narrow band of villiform teeth. 

 The intermaxillary bones are armed with two pairs of strong fangs, the 

 anterior of which is situated at the foremost extremity of the bones ; 

 the lateral series are formed by about fifteen teeth in each of the jaws. 



The prseorbital is membranaceous, striated, covering nearly the 

 whole space between the orbit and the jaw-bones. The opercvdum 

 and subopereulum have the posterior margin provided with long 

 flexible fringes. 



The abdominal portion of the vertebral column is formed by thirty- 

 nine, the caudal by about one hundred and twenty vertebrae*. The 

 posterior vertcbrte can scarcely be distinguished from one another. 

 The ribs are excessively frail, filiform ; the haemal and neural spines 

 are slender, and an interhsemal and interneural correspond to every 

 one of them. 



2. Trichiurus savala. 



Trichiurus savala, Cuv. Regne Anim. ; Cuv. Sf Val. viii. p. 251. pi. 224 ; 

 Cant. Ann. ^-Mag. Nat. Hist. ix. p. 15, and Catal. p. 115 ; Cuv. Regne 

 Anim. HI. Poiss. pi. 68 ; Bleek. Makr. Verh. Bat. Gen. xxiv. p. 41. 



armatiis. Gray, Zool. Misc. p. 9, and III. Ind. Zool. pi. f. 1; 



Richards. Icldh. Cliina, p. 268. 



D. 112-130. 



The height of the body is 13 to 16 times in the total length, the 

 length of the head Qk to 7| ; the diameter of the eye is 3| in the 

 length of the snout, and equals the width of the interorbital space, 

 which is quite flat. 



East Indian Seas. 



a. Adult. India. Presented by General Hardwicke. — Type of 



Trichiurus armatus. 

 h. Adult. China. 



c. Adult: skin. Malayan Peninsula. From Dr. Cantor's Collection. 



d. Half-grown: skin. Malayan Peninsula. From Dr. Cantor's 



Collection. 



3. Trichiurus japonicus. 



Tricliim'us lepturus japonicus, Faun. Jajxm. Poiss. p. 102. pi. 54. 

 japonicus, Bleek. Verhand. Batav. Genootsch. xxvi. Japan, p. 98. 



D. 139. 



The height of the body is 16 times in the total length, the length 



* CuTier slates sixty vei'tebrw for the abdominal portioti, and one hundred for 

 the caudal. 



