118 



Barbel very slender and inconspicuous, not half as long as the eye. 



Scales apparently absent from the head ; large thin and very deciduous on 

 the body. The scales on the anterior half of the trunk and posterior half of the 

 tail are smooth and cycloid ; but between these parts — at any rate in adults — the 

 scales bear 6 or 7 series of rather distant granules or semi-erect spinules. 



Seven rows of scales between the last ray of the iirst dorsal fin and the 

 lateral line. 



1 st dorsal spine rudimentary ; the second is as long as the head without the 



snout. 



Pectorals narrow, pointed ; about as long as the postorbital portion of the 

 head. 



Outer ray of the ventral fins filamentous, nearly as long as the head without 

 the snout. 



Vent situated behind the mass of the ventral fins, immediately in front of 

 the 1st anal ray. 12 or 13 not very long pyloric c^ca. 



Colours in life : head and iris silvery, body pinkish brown with a silvery 

 sheen, throat and belly black : first dorsal white, with a black patch about the 

 middle. 



Length between 6 and 7 inches. 



In some specimens there is a curious circular spot or pimple in the middle 

 line of the belly in front of the ventral fins. 



Andaman Sea, 188 to 220, 240, 265, 271 and 405 fathoms : Gulf of Manar, 

 180 to 217 fathoms. 



Regd.Nos. 11644, 11774, 12449, 13551-13560, y-'', if', '^, i^. 



Distribution: G. of Mexico, 227 fathoms : G. of Manar and Andaman Sea, 

 180 to 405 fathoms. 



I am satisfied by actual comparison of our specimens with one received from 

 the Smithsonian Institution (and now in the Indian Museum collection), that the 

 species described by me as Mystaconurus heterolepis is the same as Goode and 

 Bean' s HymenocejAaliis cavernosus : and I believe that both these names will prove 

 to be synonyms of Giglioli's Eijmenocei)lialus itaUcus from the Mediterranean. 



Subgenus Malacocephalus, Gthr. 



Mouth wide, in the ordinary lateral position, the infra-orbital ridge quite 

 indistinct. Teeth in the upper jaw in two rows ; in a single row in the lower 

 jaw. Scales imbricate, spinigerous. Dorsal spine smooth. 



