418 DEEP-SEA FISHES OF THE ATLANTIC BASIN. 



Sicatci- tliaii tlie vertical, ahoiit ono-fourtli of the length of tlie head, aud equal to tlie 

 width of the iiiteiorbital s]iiU'(' above the center of the orbit. Scales very rough, each 

 with 3 or 4 acute aud proniiueut spines; 4 series between the iirst dorsal fin and the lateral 

 line; the crests of many of the enlarged dorsal scales are coarsely denticulated. The 

 entire abdomen covered with scales. Distance .)f vent from the isthnnis eijual to that of 

 the hind margin of the eye from the extremity of the snout. Barbel very small. Ventrals 

 small, inserted in fiont of the pectoral fin, with tlie outer ray produced into a short filament. 

 Anterior branchial arcli with 22 very short, styliform gill-rakers, {(liinther.) 



This Ibriii, the Pizzune or Pesci sorici of the Sicilian fisherman, the Ealto of Cornigli- 

 auo, has been found in the vicinity of Nice and Genoa, as well as about Sicily, but not as 

 yet in the Adriatic, ^'incigucl•ra states that in the Gulf of Genoa it is more abundant 

 than Ccelorhynchun. With the long line at 600 fathoms, ott" Genoa, he obtained 1(5 speci- 

 mens of this form and none of the other. Both are taken at sea, some miles out from 

 Genoa, by the fishermen of Cornigiiano, at depths of 300 fathoms or more. The French 

 ships took 61 specimens off the South European and African coast in 400 to 1,400 fathoms. 



Canestrini gives a fair figure and Vinciguerra a better one. 



TRACHYRHYNCHUS MIIRRAYI, Gunthek. 



Trachyrliynchus Murrayi, Gjinther, Cliallenger Report, xxii, 1887, 153, pi. m,i, Fig. A. 



The large orbit is oval in shape, nearly one fourth of the length of tlie head, contained 

 once and two-thirds in the length of the snout, aud eipial to the width of the interorbital 

 space above the middle of the orbit. Scales almost smooth, having 1, 2, or 3 small spines 

 developed on their hind margin ; they arc rather irregularly arranged, in 4 series, between the 

 dorsal fin and the lateral line; crests of the dorsal scales .simi)le, triangular, spines directed 

 backwards, without denticnlation. The abdomen between the vent and the roots of the 

 ventral fins scaleless. The distance of the vent from the isthmus nearly equal to that of 

 the hind margin of the eye from the extremity of the snout. Barbel minute. Ventral fin 

 very small, scarcely in front of the pectoral, with the outer ray produced into a filament, 

 •which docs not reach the vent. Pectoral as long as the postorbital portion of the head. 

 Anterior branchial aich with 22 very short styliform gill rakers. 



Light yellowish (in spirits) : vertical fins, ventral filament, interior of the mouth and 

 branchial cavity black. D. 9; P. 23; V. 7. (Gllnther.) 



This S])ecies was discovered by the Knujht Errant in the Faroe channel, station 4, at a 

 depth of 555 fathoms. 



MAC HURON us, Gunther. 



Macruromis, GOnther, Zool. Record, viii, 1873, 103; Challenger Report, xxii, 1887, 157. 



Head and body compressed, covered with cycloid scales; trunk not abbreviated. Bones 

 of the head rather firm, with narrow cavities. Eye large; snout rather pointed; mouth wide, 

 lateral. Teeth in the upper jaw biserial, those of the outer series and those of the single 

 mandibulary series strong. Gill-membrane slightly united in front; 7 branchiostegals; 4 

 gills with the gill-lamiuie well developed; the first branchial arch free, with long lanceolate 

 gill-rakers. Rays of the second dorsal well developed throughout its length. Barbel none. 



This genus includes a single species, Maeruronus Nova-zelandicv, (Hector), Giinther. 

 (Figure 350.) (Hector, Trans. New Zealand Inst., ill, 13C, i)l. xviii, fig. 1. — Hutton, Fish. 

 New Zealand, 49.— Giinther, Challenger Eeport, xxii, 1887, 157.) 



Of this fish Dr. Gunther examined si)ccimens from New Zealand, Tasmania, and the 

 Messier Channel, the largest being nearly 2 feet long. "All of them," he writes, "seem to 

 have been caught near the surface and at no great distance from the shore, and it is not 

 prol)al)le that it descends to the same great depth as the other Ilacruri. Like Lepidopus^ 

 it seems to liv'c for the greater ])art of the year at a small depth, and to periodically 

 ai)proach the shore at certain seasons. Hutton says that it is thrown up in large quanti- 

 ties on the shores of Uook Straits after heavy gales." 



