EDIBLE FISHES OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 187 



length of the head : pectoral pointed, concave posteriorly, 1'66 in the same 

 length : caudal forked, the least height of its pedicle 2'50 in the height of 

 the body. Scales very deciduous, obscurely carinated : a lanceolate axillary 

 scale, almost as long as the pectoral fin. Gillrakers fine and closely set, 

 one third of the diameter of the eye. 



Colors. — Dark blue above, silvery on the sides and below. 



"We have included this species on the strength of Macleay's statement that 

 it is one of those known to the fishermen as ' Maray,' and that it passes 

 northwards every winter in enormous shoals ; he concludes : — " It is said also 

 to be very much appreciated as food by the few who have had the opportunity 

 of tasting it." Specimens of this fish are unknown, with the exception of the 

 one mentioned by Macleay and taken in Port Jackson, and two or three 

 others in the Australian Museum, the largest of which measures seven and 

 two thirds inches. 



They are very closely allied to the Clupea micropii,s, Schlegel, of the 

 Japanese Seas. 



Family— MUR^HID^. 



Murcenoidei, Midler, Abhandl. Ak. Wiss. Berl. 1845, p. 193. 



Body elongate, cylindrical, or band-shaped. Humeral arch not attached 

 to the skull. Tlie branchial openings in the pharynx may be wide or narrow 

 slits. Margin of upper jaw formed anteriorly by the premaxillaries, which 

 are more or less coalescent with the vomer and ethmoid ; laterally by the 

 tooth bearing maxillaries. Vertical fins, when present, confluent or separated 

 by the projecting tip of the tail : ventrals absent : pectorals present or 

 absent. Scales, when present, rudimentary. Vent situated at a great 

 distance from the head or near to the base of the pectoral fins. The heart 

 may be approximate to or remote from the gills. Stomach with a blind sac. 

 No pyloric appendages. Ovaries destitute of oviducts. 



Geograpldcal distribution. — Seas and fresh waters of all temperate and 

 tropical regions. 



Genus I.— ANGUILLA. 



Anguilla (Thunberg), Cuvier, Eegne Anim. 



Body moderately elongated. Gill-openings of moderate extent, situated 

 near the base of the pectoral fins. Upper jaw not projecting beyond the 

 lower. Teeth small, forming bands. Dorsal fin commencing at some distance 

 behind the occiput : pectorals present. Small scales imbedded in the skin. 



Geoc/rapliical distrihntion. — The genus Anguilla appears to be resident in 

 the fresh waters and estuaries of the habitable globe, the circumpolar 

 regions, and certain localities lying at so high an altitude as to be subject to 

 intense cold, being the only exceptions. 



ANGUILLA EEINHAEDTI. 



Anguilla reinliardlii, Steindachn. SB. Ak. Wien, 1867, Iv. p. 15 ; Gnth. 

 Catal. Pish. Adii. p. 27 ; Macleay, Catal. Austr. Pish. ii. p. 203, and Proc. 

 Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, viii. ^. 210. 



