LESSEU IMl'Kl'ISII. 



()!?, 



leiigtli, thouirli, so tar as we Iia\e been able tu ascertain, 

 the vai'iations are so restricted tiiat it is always greater 

 than tiie length of the head. Its iqipcr margin is more 

 regularly curved than in the (iruat I'ipefish, with the 

 longest rays nearer the middle. 



The anal tin is of insignificant size; but tlie caudal 

 fin is com])aratively larger than in the ])receding .spe- 

 cies, its length being at least 3' ., % of that of the 

 The form of its body so closelj- resembles that of young ! body and 38 — 31 % of that of tlie licad. 

 specimens of the preceding species that in this respect it The three figures which arc gi\en in Plate XX\T1I, 



is difiicult to state any constant distinction between them; | reiiresent three individuals, one fetnale (fig. 8), a young 

 but the plate-armour confirms the rule already formu- j male with undeveloped marsu])ium (fig. 7), and a spe- 

 latcd by Ahtkdi, that witiiin this genus we must look I cimen of the fry (fig. 6). These sj)ecimens were taken 

 for characteristic differences, first of all, in the number of i at the beginning of July, 1887 in Kosler I'jord (Xortti- 

 rings on the l;od\-. The Lesser Pipefish has only 15 — 17 ; ern IJohuslan) at the surface, where the deptii of water 



the lcrij;lli cf llie liead is soiucwlial more llinn 1.3 % (13'2 %) of that 

 of tlir holly, the length of tlie has-e of the dorsal fin less than ' 3 

 (31'('> °i>) of the distance between this tin and the tip of the snout or 

 only 88 °. of the length of the ln-ail, and the temporal carina' — which 

 iu S>/ngnathtts rostellntiix are never more tlinn rudimentary — are dis- 

 tinct, starting backwards from the supraorliital margins. Thus, as we 

 know the true juvenile form of the Great Pipefish, we are compelled to 

 retain the Lesser Pipefish as a distinct species, however nearly these 

 two species are allied. 



The Lesser Pipefish attains a length of 16 cm." 



rings on the trunk and ?)7 — 40 on the tail, or at most 

 57 in all, thus at least 6 less than the minimum num- 

 ber in the preceding species. The middle lateral carina 

 of the trunk is usually coherent in this species with tlie 

 uii|)cr lateral edge of the tail. It is stated, however, 

 that this character may also be found in the preceding 

 species, at least in young specimens thereof; and on the 

 other hand, the two carin.e may be separated in this 

 species in the same manner as in the preceding one — 

 see the largest of the specimens figured in Plate XXVIII 

 (fig. 8, a: twice the natural size in fig. 8, h). The mar- 

 supiuni of the males occu[)ics the first 23 — 2G rings 

 of the tail. 



The length of the head measures a])out 10' ,, — 12' ._, 

 % of that of the body, and its structure is otherwise 

 the same as in the preceding species; but behind the 

 eyes, on the to|) and on the temples in front of the 

 small occipital carina, it is evenly convex, without the 

 carina^ which in the Great Pipefish run back on each 

 side from the upper orbital margin, or with only a rudi- 

 ment of a similar carina immediately behind each orbit. 



was al)out 100 fathoms. file}' were forwarded alive 

 by Mr. G. A. Hansson to the Royal Museum, where 

 they lived a few days longer. Their coloration was 

 above greenish, shading into brown; but the dorsal side 

 itself was lighter, shading into gray. The lower part 

 of the sides and the belly were silvery, the former Avith 

 a golden lustre in the male. The darkest colour thus 

 appeared like a longitudinal band from the sides of the 

 snout, across the eyes, on the postorbital part of the 

 head, and on the sides of the body just below the upper- 

 most lateral carina. But behind the dorsal fin, at the 

 transition to the tail, it was broken off short, and the 

 lateral band of the tail o\'erlapped it below. Tlie caudal 

 fin was brownish violet. The other fins were trans- 

 parent. The iris was golden. No traces of transverse 

 bands appeared on the body; but that this is not a 

 constant character of the species, seems more than pro- 

 bable, and is easily explained, with the knowledge we 

 possess of the generic power of changing colour. In 

 some of the specimens belonging to the Royal Museum, 

 which have lain in spirits for more than forty years. 



The pectoral fins are comparatively larger than in i transverse bands of a darker colour a])pear between the 

 the Great Pipefish, and are inserted lower down the I rings on the trunk, and in the males the strips be- 

 sides. The length of their longest rays is greater than tween the marsupial plates are in some cases lighter. 



the (leptli of tlie body at the beginning of the tail. 



The (lorsid fin is suppoi-ted on 10 or 11 plates, 

 but sometimes ptirtly occupies as many as 13. It be- 

 gins at a distance from the tij) of the snout that mea- 

 sures 34 — 36' ?6 of the length of the body; and the 



in others darker. According to Nilssox too, "the co- 

 loration is above dark gray or brown with darker trans- 

 verse bands, below yellowish white; the caiuhil fin with 

 transverse streaks of brown." 



The Lesser Pipefish is feirly common in IJohuslan, 



length of its base is about 15 — 12' ., % of the same I according to Malm the commonest species of the genus 



" According to CoLLKTT. The largest specimen in the Royal Museum is a male 155 mm. long. 



' MoREAli's measurements of a female Syiif/nathus Diimerilii, which is probably identical in species with <b'. rostellal((?, show, how- 

 over, that this percentage may rise to 37. 



