ORTHRAGORISCUS. 193 



hump, there also obtains a great difierence amoug different 

 individuals. 



Harting , in his description of Orthragoriscus ozodura , 

 speaking of the hump and the osseous tubercle says: »Ce 

 disque osseux donne au museau de I'animal une certaine 

 ressemblance avec celui de quelques mammifères fouisseurs 

 a nez prominent et tronque" ^). 



Steenstrup and Lütken also mention a conic snout or 

 proboscis with their specimen of Orthragoriscus without 

 folded band 2). 



Also Houttuyn's engraving ^) and Yarrel's figure , men- 

 tioned above , show a snout protruding above the mouth. 

 On comparing Schlegel's drawing in the Fauna Japonica 

 or Retzius' figure we find not the slightest trace of a snout 

 or proboscis , on the contrary the line from the mouth to 

 the beginning of the caudal fin runs on in a convex curve 

 over the eye. 



Moreover Harting mentions »une crete verticale qui 

 s'élève lelong du dos et atteint 4 centimetres de hauteur. 

 Posterieurement elle se confond avec la nageoire dorsale." 



Our specimen from Ameland shows no traces of such a 

 crest, nor do I find mention made of it in other descrip- 

 tions ; on the other hand I find them with two of the 

 specimens in our Museum mentioned before, viz. with the 

 specimen from the Dutch coast, and with that caught off 

 Leghorn. Moreover these two present the osseous tubercle 

 above the mouth. Our specimen from Japan shows no sign 

 either of the crest on the back , or of an osseous tubercle 

 above the mouth. 



As regards the splitting up of the jaws, I do not be- 

 lieve this to be a reliable feature for specific distinction , 

 as specimens of different size display different stages of 

 development. 



1) Harting 1. c. p. 6. 



2) Steenstrup and Liitken , 1. c. : «at Hovedet sprang from foran og over 

 den lille Mund i Form af en but kegledaanet Snude eller Tryne." 



3^ Houttuyn, Natuurlijke Historie. Dl. I, p. 494, Tafel LX VIII, fig. 7. 



.Notes from tine Leyden Museum, Vol. !X.II. 



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