7. UROCONOER. 43 



Upper jaw much projecting bcj'oiid the lower. Lips moderately 

 dovolopod ; the cleft of the mouth extends nearly to below the 

 middle of the eye. Tail rather longer than the body. Dorsal fin 

 beginning immediately behind tlio base of the i)ectoral. Vertical 

 fins with a narrow black margin. 



New Zealand ; ? St. Taul. 



a. Type of the species. Cook's Straits. Presented by the R. Col- 



lege of Surgeons. 



b. Adult. New Zealand. Presented by Capt. Drury. 



Conger neoguinaicus, Bleeker (Act. Soc. Sc. Indo-Ncerl. vi. 

 Nieuw Guinea, p. 22), or Ophisoma neoguhiaicum, Bleck. (Atl. Ichtli. 

 Mur. p. 28), is founded on an example so badly preserved that no 

 really distinctive characters can be pointed out. It is possible that 

 it is identical with C. hahcnata. 



a. Type of Conger neogubiaicus, in very bad state. New Guinea. 

 From Dr. Ijleeker's Collection. 



Miiropliis heterognatJius, Bleeker, Act. Soc. Sc. Indo-Neerl. v. 

 Japan, v. p. 9, pi. 3. fig. 1, is another name given by Dr. Bleeker 

 to a young congroid fish, in bad condition, from Nagasaki. The 

 character by which, perhaps, it may be recognized is the great 

 length of the tail (body = 2 inches, tail = 3| inches). On the other 

 characters assigned to this fish by its original describer, Dr. Kaup 

 has founded a new genus, Gnatliophis (Aale Hamburg. INIus. p. 7); 

 but Dr. Bleeker states (Atl. Ichth. Mur. p. 29) that his original de- 

 scription is not what it ought to have been, and that the fish is a 

 second species of Uroconger. I cannot agree with him in this last 

 conclusion, the fish having quite a different dentition ; it is, in fact, 

 a Congromuroina, and very closely allied to C. haberiata. 



a. T3'pe of Myroplds Jieterognathus. Nagasaki. From Dr. Bleeker's 

 Collection. 



6. Congromuraena mystax. 



MuriBna mystax, De In Roche, Ann. Mits. .xiii. 1809, p. 328, fig. 10 ; 



liiaso, Eur. Mcricl. iii. p. 203. 

 Congermura?na mystax, Kaup, Apod. p. 110. 



Upper lip much swollen and thickened ; upper jaw pointed, much 

 projecting beyond the lower. Tail considerably longer than the 

 body. Dorsal fin beginning immediately behind the gill-opening. 

 Coloration uniform. 



Mediterranean. 



7. UROCONGER. 

 Urocougcr, Kaup, Apod. p. 110. 



Scalelcss. Jaws with the muciferous cavities moderately deve- 

 loped. Cleft of the mouth of moderate width, extending somewliat 

 beyond the middle of the eye. Teeth acicular, subequal in size ; 

 maxillary and lateral mandibulary teeth biserial, not closely set. 

 Vomerine teeth small, in a single series. Pectoral and vertical fins 

 well develoi)ed, the dorsal begiuniiig above the root of the pectoral. 



