In larvae of about 3 nuri;, body length, which are thought 

 to have just hatched outj the snout protrudes hardly at allj 

 the mouth is large , and there are large j, sharp teeth in both 

 jawSo There is a serrated projection on the upper edge of the 

 eye socket. This projection adjoins a huge spine on the upper 

 end of the posterior edge of the preopercleo At the lower end 

 of the posterior edge of the pi-eopercle there is a spine even 

 larger than the one at the upper end. Except for the eyeball 

 hardly any pigment is developed on the body,, 



In individuals of 5 = 7 mnio the serrate portion above the 

 eye has degenerated somewhat, but the upper and lower spines on 

 the preopercle are still conspicuouso The snout projects some- 

 what , the mouth is large » and the teeth in both jaws are still 

 prominento Heavy dark purple pigment has developed on the head 

 and body, but none appears on the paudal region„ Particularly 

 large chromatophores can be seen on the dorsal surface of the 

 head over the brainy and a number of large round chromatophores 

 also appear along both sides of the base of the dorsal fino 



In specimens of about 12 mmo the snout is already markedly 

 elongated and the lower jaw also projectSo Sharp; canine=like 

 teeth are closely set in both jaws, the tip of the upper jaw 

 having three particularly large canine teeth, the middle one of 

 which is hooked somewhat upward„ The bony portion of the upper 

 rim of the eye socket with its serrated edge has degenerated 

 markedly^ and the upper and lower spines of the preopercle have 

 diminished in relative lengtho The dorsal fin has greatly 

 developed and its rays are clearly discernibleo The other fins 

 have also developed remarkablyo Both the dorsal and the anal 

 fins have a single base,, The unpigmented portion of the caudal 

 region has become restricted to the farthest posterior partp 

 remaining only on the caudal peduncleo The large chromatophores 

 which appeared on the dorsal surface of the head above the 

 brain and at the base of the dorsal fin have disappearedo On 

 the part of the dorsal fin having the longest rays large, roundj 

 deep black chromatophores appear forming spotso 



Of the larger sizes of fish none have been collected as 

 yet up to a length of about 140 mmo Specimens of this length 

 are in general like mature fish in form„ and the projections 

 and spines which are seen in the juvenile stages have completely 

 disappearedo Marked differences from mature fish are the 

 extraordinary length of the snoutp the fact that the dorsal and 

 anal fins each have a single base^ the nearly semicircular form 

 of the edge of the dorsal fin without the concavity which 

 appears in the anterior portion in the adult^, and the fact 

 that the markings and spots on the lateral line and the first 

 dorsal are unclear and barely apparento 



43 



