178 DR. RICHARDSON'S DESCRIPTION OF AUSTRALIAN FISH. 



Female. Male. 



In. Lin. In. Lin. 



Height of dorsal spine 43 00 



Height of second dorsal anteriorly 24 IG 



Height of first under caudal 30 20 



Height of second under caudal anteriorly 2 2 16 



Length of rostral appendage 16 14 



Breadth of rostral appendage 10 010 



Solander's original description of Callorhynchus antarcticus mentions spots, of which 

 there were no traces in our examples of tasmanius. It is as follows : " Piscis non tan- 

 tummodo maxime singularis sed certissime pulcherrimus , nitidissimus, argenteus, fulgore 

 cupreo resplendens ; maculis magnis ovatis, nigricanti-plumbeis, ad lucem variantibus, in 

 dorso et lateribus adspersis. Nebula transversalis nigra ab occipite ad oculos. Pars car- 

 nosa pinnarum pectoralium, supra plumbea, subtus argentea splendidissima." Tasmanius, 

 ■when compared with the plates of antarcticus ahove-mentioned, shows a greater space 

 between the dorsal fins, larger ventrals, a less conspicuous upper caudal, a higher under 

 caudal, shorter pectorals, and a difference in the shape of the second dorsal. When 

 compared with Beechey's figure of C. smythii, the rostrum appears longer, its obcor- 

 date lobe larger and more depending, the dorsal spine seems thicker, not so long, and 

 not serrated, the second dorsal and caudal are differently shaped, and the lateral line is 

 less boldly zig-zagged under the second dorsal. 



Narcine tasmaniensis, Tasmanian Narcine. — Narcine tasmaniensis, Richardson, Zool. 



Proceed. 



Tab. XI. Fig. 2. 

 Narcine dorso dipterygio ; disco ovato ; margins valvules nasalis triloba, integerrimo ; 

 pinna ventrali disco approximatd, rotundatd. 



Several specimens of this fish, all females, were included in Mr. Lerapriere's collec- 

 tion ; but that gentleman says nothing respecting its habits, nor does he mention 

 whether its electrical powers had attracted the attention of the colonists. It differs 

 from the four species of Narcine described by Henle in the ovate form of the pectoral 

 disc, the snout, which is obtuse, forming the narrow extremity of the figure, and the 

 transverse axis of the ovoid posteriorly being greater than its longitudinal one. N. in- 

 dica has a pentagonal disc, the ventrals are not close to the pectorals, and the nasal 

 flap has three acute lobes instead of rounded ones as in tasmaniensis. The eyes of 

 tasmaniensis are more remote from the spiracles than those of indica, and considerably 

 more so than in any of the other described Narcines. N. timlei has nearly a circular 

 disc, its pectorals and ventrals are also remote from each other, and its nasal valve is 

 crenated. The disc of N. brasiliensis comes nearer to that of tasmaniensis in form, but 

 the pectoral fin overlaps the base of the ventrals and the nasal valve has no lateral 



