406 DKEP-SEA FISHES OF THE ATLANTIC BASIN. 



stiition 2103, ill 38° 47' 20" N. lat., 72'= 37' AV. loii., at a doi>th of 1,001 fatlinms; from station 

 2102, ill 38^3 M" N. lat., 72° 38' \V. Ion., at a depth of 1,209 fathoms; from station 2110, in 35° 

 45' 23" K. lat., 74° 31' 25" AV. Ion., at a depth of 888 fathoms; from station 2529, in 41° 03' 

 30" N. hit., ()6o 14' W. Ion., at a dejith of G(!2 fatlioms; and from station 2115, in 35° 49' 30" 

 N. lat., 740 34' 45" W. Ion., at a depth of 843 fathoms. 



HYMENOCEPHALUS, GigUoli. 



Hymenoceitlialun, Giglioi.i, Pelagos, Gonoii, 1S,S4, 228 (typo, //. italictts, with recoguizablu figure.)— Vaillant, 



Exp. Sc-i. Travaillcur et Talisman, 210. 

 Mystaconitrua (as subgenus), GOnther, Cliallengpr Report, xxii, 1887, 124. 



Allied to Corypkmnoules, witli smooth dorsal spine, with first dorsal broad, placed 

 far forward over base of pectoral; with second dorsal and anal origins nearly opposite, and 

 separated by a considerable space from the vertical from the end of first dorsal; with vent 

 far from ventral origin. Head large, naked, soft, and cavernous; snout abrupt, perpendic- 

 ular or parabolic; mouth lateral, wide. Eye very large, orbital margin forming part of 

 profile of head. Barbel long. Pectoral rather narrow (10-16 rays). Scales thin, decidu- 

 ous, with fine short spines. Under parts in advance of ventral wholly or partly naked. 



Hymenocephalus heterolepis (Alcock), occurs in the Andaman Sea, off Koss Island, in 

 205 to 271 fathoms, and in the Bay of Bengal, between Watts and South Sentinel Islands in 

 220 to 240 fatlioms (Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. 1889, Nov., 390.), and in the Laccadive Sea, 

 188-220 fathoms. [111. Zool. Investigator^ i, pi. ni, fig. 30.] 



II. lonf/iharhis (Giiuther), was taken by the Challenger at Station 173. off Matnku, Fiji 

 Islands, at the depth of 315 fathoms. 



HYMENOCEPHALUS ITALICUS, Giglioo. 



Malacocephahis la-vis, Moreau (not Lowe), Hist. Nat. Poiss. Franco, 1881, III, 284, fig. 183. 

 jBi/mrnocephalusitalicus, Giglioli, Pelagos, 228, 1884 (without description, but with fair woodcut). — Vail- 

 lant, Exp. Scient. Travailleiir ct Talisman, 127, pi. xix, fig. 1. 

 Macrurus {Mijslacouuru.i) itaJicux, Gunturr, Challenger Report, xxii, 1887, 141. 



Head deeper than broad, with vertical sides and wide muciferous cavities; snout 

 obtuse, short, slightly iirojectiiig beyond the mouth, the cleft of which is oblique, anterior 

 and lateral, and extending to behind the middle of the eye. Teeth in both jaws minute, 

 of equal size, villiform, in narrow bands. Barbel small. Interorbital space as wide as the 

 eye, the diameter of which is one-third of the length of the head, and exceeding the snout 

 in length. Scales extremely thin, deciduous, spiny, of comparatively large size. Preoper- 

 cular margin not serrated. Anterior dorsal spine smooth, filamentous; the distance 

 between the two dorsal fins is but little more than the length of the base of the former. 

 Pectoral fin about half as long as the head. Vent far behind first dorsal but close to the 

 root of the ventral fins which reach it, and the outer ray of which is produced into a fila- 

 ment. Anal far back. A triangular scaleless space between the ventral fins, nearly 

 extending to the vent; a small round naked sj)ace, surrounded by s^jiny scales, in the 

 middle of the preventral region. Distance between the vent and the isthmus three-fourths 

 of the length of the head. Body and tail colorless; sides of the head and abdomen sil- 

 very; lower parts to the vent black. (Giinthey.) 



Eadial formula: D. 12; P. 16; V. 10. 



Giiuther, Mho examined a young sjiecimen from Nice, 5J inches long, says that there 

 can be no doubt that this is a juvenile form, and that if it were not for the dentition he 

 should not hesitate to refer it to Macrurus lanns, with w^liich it agrees in several important 

 characters. Moi'cau and Vaillant had no oiiportunity to examine larger specimens. The 

 French expedition obtained 118 specimens at depths of 2G5 and 1,042 fathoms ofl'the coast 

 of Morocco. 



