2. SYNONATHUS. 173 



deeper than broad, with the ventral ridge very prominent. Shields 

 without spines. Tail (without caudal fin) twice or thrice as long as 

 the trunk (without head). Dorsal fin commencing behind the vent. 

 Caudal fin small. Abdomen generally with about thirteen black 

 cross bars, at least as broad as the interspaces. Sometimes the 

 species is without these bands, and appears uniform brownish in 

 spirits. 



Indian Ocean. 



a~d. Half-grown : dried. Zanzibar. From Lieut. -Col. Playfair's 



Collection (with black cross bands). 

 e-f. Young. Zanzibar. From Lieut. -Col. Playfair's Collection 



(without black cross bands). 

 g. Adult male. Rovuma lliver. From the Livingstone Expedi- 

 tion. The tail of this individual is only twice as long as the 



trunk, and composed of 29 rings. 

 h. Adult male. Mouth of the Zambcze. Presented by Dr. Kirk. 

 i. Young. Java. From Dr. Blocker's Collection. One of the tjrpes 



of IS. djarong ; abdomen without cross bauds. 

 h. Adult. Coram. From Dr. Bleeker's Collection. ^Type of 8. 



gastrotcenia ; abdomen with cross bands. 

 /. Half-grown. Borneo. From Dr. Bleeker's Collection. — Type of 



S. helfrickii ; abdomen without cross bands. 

 m, n. Adult. Luzon. Presented by Prof. Peters. 

 0. Adult female. China. Presented by Gen. Hardwicke. — Type 



of S. biserialis. (Tail-rings 39 and not 46, as stated by Kaup.) 

 7>. Adult. Purchased of Mr. Jamrach. 



Not ha\-ing received the typical example of Syngnathus heptagomis, 

 Blkr. (101 miUims. long), I am unable to convince myself of its 

 specific distinctness. Originally described as Hippichthi/s hejitagonus, 

 from a single example from Madura (Bleeker, in Verb. Bat. Gen. xxii. 

 Madura, p. 15), it reappears as tSi/ngnatJuis pentagonus (ibid. xxv. 

 Trosk. p. 23), the generic name Hippichtlvis ha%-ing proved to be 

 useless. There is nothing in the description which would lead me 

 to suppose that it was any thing more than one of the varieties of 

 S. spicifer. However, Dr. Kaup, who believes himself to have recog- 

 nized this species, refers it to his genus Rhthgocampus, which has the 

 dorsal ridges coalescent with those of the tail, expressly stating that 

 it difters from S. spicifer in this respect (Lophobr. p. 31). On the 

 other hand. Dr. Blocker, at a later period (Enumer. Spec. p. 187), 

 leaves S. ijentagonns with SyngnaUms, although he acknowledges 

 the genus Ichthijocmnpus, thereby imjdpng that it has the dorsal 

 ridges interrupted, and that Dr. Kaup's identification is erroneous. 

 Thus the species remains at present very doubtful, and it can only 

 bo determined by a reexamination of the original typical specimen. 



Dr. Kaup's CorytJioichihi/s gasirotienia (Lophobr. p. 27) is cer- 

 tainly not the Si/ngnatluis gastrobmia of Bleeker. It is described 

 as having a snout " one-third the length of the head," the tail, 

 which is not quite the " length of the body, having 40 rings," and 

 as being " found at Wahai and Ceram in the North Pacific" (!). 



