^55 



rated. Mandible with a nearly single symphysial knob; mandi- 

 bulary angle more acute in small, more obtuse in older indi- 

 viduals. Origin of first dorsal midway between end of snout 

 and base of caudal or somewhat nearer to firstnamed. Its spine 

 equal to half length of head or somewhat longer, slightly 

 lower than second dorsal and anal, which both are concave. 

 About 20 — -22 pracdorsal scales. Origin of first dorsal spine oppo- 

 site to iith — 1 2th, that of second dorsal opposite to 23rd — 25th 

 lateral scale, that of anal somewhat before second dorsal. 

 Pectorals acute, equal to or shorter than head without snout, 

 reaching to about 9th or lo^h lateral scale. Caudal deeply emar- 

 ginate, its upper lobe the longer. A short axillary scale above 

 pectorals and ventrals. Least height of caudal peduncle 2'/^ — 2^/3 

 in length of head. Greyish above, silvery below, a dark line 

 along each row of scales in the upper half of the body, getting 

 less conspicuous and shorter in the lower half. Second dorsal, 

 anal, caudal and ventrals with a dusky margin; pectorals with 

 the outer third blackish, with a narrow whitish margin and a 

 dark crossband at its base. Length 430 mm. 



Habitat: Java (Kner) ; Borneo ! ;New Guinea (Macleay). — 

 Red Sea, Sokotra, Madagascar, Mauritius, Bourbon, Balutchistan, 

 British India (river Ganges), China, Japan, Formosa, Philippines, 

 Australia, Tasmania, Nqw Zealand, Lord Howe Island, Norfolk 

 Island, Solomon Islands, Nukahiva, Society Islands, Sandwich 

 Islands, Mediterranean, Atlantic coast of United States, Panama, 

 Southern California, Pacific Coast of Monterey to Chili. ) 



Note. Bleeker mentions this species under the name of 

 Mngil ccphalotus C.V. from Java (Samarang, Surabaya, Besuki, 

 Batavia) and Madura, but only in lists of fishes published in 

 1845, '^49 and 1850. We are not sure, that these determina- 

 tions were correct, as in later lists this species is mentioned 

 only from Madagascar and China, but not more from the Ar- 

 chipelago. We can't make out if Kner (l.s.c.) really disposed 

 of specimens of this species from Java or if he mentions it 

 from Java in his article on the authority of Bleeker, 



It is an extraordinary fact, that M. cephaliis L., known from 

 so many localities in tropical and temperate seas all over the 

 world, is very rare in the Archipelago and with any certainty 

 only represented in New Guinea and Borneo. Lastnamed loca- 

 lity is based on a specimen examined by us and preserved 

 in the Leiden Museum under N°. 167 1. On the label is written 



7 



