138 PEOCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



middle of the body, the distance from the first ray to the tip of the 

 caudal exceeding the distance to the snout by nearly twice the length 

 of the head. The fin rays are very constantly D. LXVI, A. 50. Pec- 

 toral fin very short, its length less than the diameter of the eye (about 

 three-fifths). 



These two species are extremely and equally abundant about Monte- 

 rey, especially on the Point of Pines. They live under rocks in the 

 sand, in crevices of rocks, and in masses of algae between tide-marks. 

 They are very active, making theii' way readily on land, and remaining 

 out of water in damp places for hours without inconvenience. We 

 have procured upwards of a hundred specimens of each species, and 

 find the distinctive characters, although few, to be very constant. 



XipMster cruoreus {Xiphidium cruoreum Coi^e, Proc. Am. Philos. Soc, 

 1873), from Alaska, is apparently either identical with Xiphister mucosiis 

 or closely allied to it. The description agrees better with mucosus than 

 with rupestris. 



The systematic position of the genus XiphisUr deserves a moment's 

 notice. Professor Gill has referred it to a family, ^^XipMdiontidw,''^ dis- 

 tinguished from '■'' Sticliwidce''^ chiefly by the absence of pyloric coeca, and 

 from " Cehedichthyidce^^ by the short intestinal canal, the absence of 

 pyloric coeca, and the absence of soft rays in the dorsal. 



As a matter of fact, the intestinal canal in XipMster is but little 

 sh€a-ter than in CehedicMhys. It has Jive or six icell-developed pyloric cceca. 

 Whatever may be the value of the family " Stichccidce,^^ the writers do 

 not believe that CehedicMhys, XipMster, and ApodicMliys are representa- 

 tives of distinct families. The lateral line of CehedicMhys, by the way, 

 corresponds to the upper lateral line of XipMster, and like it has for its 

 whole length a series of short lateral branches eudmg in open pores. 



Table of measurements. 



