21. OPHICHTHYS. 81 



C. Pectoral rudimentary ; dorsal commencing in advance of the gill-opening. 



54. Ophichthys colufcrinus. 



Muraena colubrina, Boddaert, in Pallas' s Neue Nord. Beytr. ii. 1781, 



p. 66, pi. 2. iij?. 3. 



anuulata, AM, De Murcena et Ophichtho, 1789, p. 8, tab. 1. fig. 1. 



fasciata, AM, I.e. p. 0. 



Gymnothorax annulatus, Bl. Schn. p. 527. 



fasciatus, Bl. Schn. p. 529. 



colubrinua, Bl. Schn. p. 529. 



Ophisurus fasciatus, Lac^p. iv. p. G86; Richards. Ereh. ^ Terr. Fish. 



p. 100; Bleek. All. Ichthyol. Mures?), p. (34, tab. 21. fig. 1 ; Kner, 



Novara, Fisch. p. 379. 



alternans, Qi'cyy ^ Gaiin. Toy. Uran. i. p. 243, pi. 45. fig. 2. 



colubrinus, Richards. I. c. p. 100 ; Bleek. Nat. Tydschr. Ned. Ind. 



xi. p. 106. 

 Opbitnorax colubrina, 3f'CleU. Calc. Journ. Nat. Hist. v. p. 212 (not 



synon.). 

 Pisoodonophis fasciatus, Kanp, Apod. p. 23. 



Body surrounded with numerous brown rings. The length of the 

 head is nearly one-eighth of the distance of the gill-opening from 

 the vent ; the length ofihe body equals that of the tail. Snout 

 short, pointed ; cleft of^We mouth of moderate width, one-fourth 

 of the length of the head, slightly extending behind the eye. Eye 

 very small. Teeth obtusely conical, biserial. Pectoral Jin rudimen- 

 tary ; dorsal commencinrj immediately behind the nape ; dorsal and 

 anal fins rather low, the latter terminating at some distance from the 

 extremity of the tail. 



East-Indian archipelago ; Pacific. 



Var. a. colubrina %. annulata. Brown rings simple, nan'ower or 

 broader than the interspaces, which are immaculate. 



a. Adult. Borneo. Presented by Sir J. Richardson. 



b, c, d. Adult and half-grown. East-Indian archipelago. 

 e-f,g-h. Adult, half-grown, and young. Feejee Islands. 



Var. /3. fasciata. The intervals between the brown rings are 

 ornamented by more or less regular ocellated spots. 



i. Adult. Borneo. 

 k, l,m. Adult. 



55. Ophichthys maculosus. 



Ophisurus ophis, Lac&p. ii. pp. 195, 196, pi. 6. tig. 2 (not Bloch) ; 



Bleek. Atl. Ichth. Murcen. p. 65, tab. 16. tig. 3. 

 Muraena maculosa, Cuv. Rcgne Anim. 



Ophisurus maculosus, Richards. Ereh. l^ Terr. Fish. p. 102. 

 Pisoodonophis maculosus, Kaup, Apod. p. 21. 



Five alternate series of round brown spots along the body ; the 

 uppermost on the dorsal fin, the second partly on the back, partly 

 on the dorsal. The length of the head is one-fifth of the distance 

 of the giU-opening from the vent ; the length of the body is three- 

 fourths of that of the tail. Snout short, broad ; cleft of the mouth 



VOL. VIII. o 



