1. CANTHAnUS. 41") 



q-s. Half-grown : stuffed. 



t. Hiilf-grown : not good state. Mediterranean. Purchased of Mr. 



Frank. 

 u. Half- grown : skin. Mediterranean. From the Collection of the 



Zoological Society. 

 V. Half-grown. From the Haslar Collection. 

 IV. Half-grown : bad state. From the Old Collection. 

 .V. Adult. From the Old Collection. 

 >/—y. Adult : skins. From Mr. YarreU's Collection. 

 S. Half-grown : skin. From Gronov's Collection. 

 e. Adult : skeleton. 



Skeleton. — The maxillaiy bone is oblong, straight, with a longitu- 

 dinal ridge, and provided above and behind -with a semicircular flat 

 ])rocess. The intermaxillaiy is rather narrow, styliform, with the 

 posterior processes shorter than the descending branches. The man- 

 iibula has a narrow cleft between the dentaiy and articular bones, 

 and several very distinct pores of the muciferoiis channel. The vomer 

 has a rather irregularly quadrangular and slightly concave head, 

 and terminates in a long tapering tail. The marginal part of the 

 praeoperculum is very thin ; the length of the inferior Umb is two- 

 thirds of that of the posterior ; both meet at a right angle, which, 

 however, is roimded. The pra;opercidar ridge is rather low, ■\vith a 

 narrow muciferous channel. The operculum is irregularly qua- 

 drangular, with the upper side shortest, and the posterior slightly 

 emarginate ; there is a veiy slight ridge on the inner surface of the 

 bone, descending obliquely downwards, and not terminating in a 

 point ; the surface near the upper angle is roughened by pores. The 

 suboperculum is rather shorter and narrower than the interoper- 

 cidum. The turbinal bones are somewhat elongate, transformed into 

 a muciferous chamiel, and widened posteriorly. The prajorbital is of 

 moderate width, tapering posteriorly, with the anterior margin con- 

 vex ; the remainder of the infraorbital ring is very narrow. There 

 is an excavated bony plate at its inner side, to svipport the eyeball 

 from beneath ; this plate articulates with the pterygoid by a rather 

 strong process. The frontals form a high and very convex bony 

 protuberance, pierced by several pairs of pores, whilst the super- 

 ciliary portion is thin, and without bony excrescences ; from that 

 bony protuberance arises the high, triangular, occipital crest, A^ith 

 the upper margin slightly convex. The lateral crests also are well 

 developed. The basal portion of the brain-capsule is slightly com- 

 pressed. The glosso-hyal rather short, cuneiform, with the anterior 

 extremity thickest. The m-ohyal is very deeply notched posteriorly, 

 terminating in two processes, the upper of which is flat, in a vertical 

 direction, whilst the lower horizontal one is again forked, and forais 

 two long spines. The pubic bones are elongate, each being formed 

 by three lamellaj of nearly equal development. 



There are ten abdominal and fourteen caudal vertchrce, the length 

 of the former portion of the vertebral column being to that of the 

 latter as 1 : 1-34. ITie neural spines arc of moderate length ; those 



