THE SHORT SDNFISH. 



113 



median line at 13 inches from the front of mouth, and 8 inches 

 in front of end of tail. They are continuous behind with the 

 caudal, which forms the posterior, convex, sharp, and scalloped, 

 border of the fish ; along the bases of these fins, runs a continuous 

 band of soft pliant skin. 



inch.! iiich. 



Length of pectoral fin 2f 



Ditto of dorsal 9| 



Ditto of anal IH ' Ditto 4 



Ditto of caudal 3| Ditto 10^ 



Breadth 2| 



Ditto 4 



inch. 

 Number of rays 1 3 



Ditto 17 



Ditto 1<J 



Ditto U 



This account agrees with that of Jenyns, but not with those of 

 Yarrell and Fleming. The anal and dorsal rays, after passing 

 straight on for some distance, bend successively backwards, and 

 divide into numerous divergent filaments terminating at the 

 posterior border of the fin, which is very thin, and finely scalloped- 

 The anus is about an inch in front of the anal fin. The low^er 

 edge of the body is thinner and sharper than the upper. A 

 little above the mouth is an oval rough hard callosity, slightly 

 projecting — a sort of snout. The eye is placed nearly half-way 

 between the point of the mouth and the branchial aperture, the 

 palpebral opening is elliptical, long diam. 1| inch, shorter ditto f 

 inch. The eyeball, which is nearly flat in front, is large, sub- 

 elliptical, and has a diam. much greater than the palpebral opening. 

 Iris small, dark blue, with a white rim round the inner margin, pupil 

 elliptical, with long diameter horizontally placed. Choroid gland 

 and pecten, as described by Cuvier, were not examined. Two 

 minute nasal apertures on each side, elliptical in a direction nearly 

 vertical, are placed | inch in front of the eye, and close together. 

 The posterior is only half the size of the other. The branchial 

 aperture is partially guarded by a fold of skin directed backwards, 

 and is covered by a fold of branchiostegal membrane, the posterior 

 free border of which rests on the scapula. This aperture lies 

 directly in front of the pectoral fin, its long diameter, vertical, is 

 I inch, its short, horizontal, ^ inch. It leads into a capacious 

 branchial chamber, which, with its walls, forms the bulk of the 

 apparently enormous head of the fish. The size of the branchial 

 chamber, compared with that of its external openings, is very 



VOL. II. PT. I. p 



