88 FISHES OF NEW ZEALAND. 



Reddish brown, white round the mouth. 

 Common. South Africa, Australia (Krelft.) 



SUB-CLASS YL— LEPTOCARDII. 



No brain ; pulsating sinuses instead of a heart ; no jaws ; respiratory 

 cavity confluent with the abdominal cavity; bi-anchial clefts in gi-eat 

 number, the water being expelled by an opening in front of the vent. 



CIRROSTOMI. 



Characters of the single genus. 



Branchiostoma. 



Body elongate, scaleless, compressed, limbless ; mouth a longitudinal 

 fissure, with subrigid cirri on each side, inferior ; vent at a short distance 

 from the extremity of the tail ; a low ray less fin-like fold i-uns along 

 the back, round the tail, past the vent, to the respii-atory aperture ; 

 eye rudimentaiy. 



Temperate regions of the northei-n and soxithern hemispheres. 



141. BRANCHIOSTOMA LANCEOLATUM. Yarrell. CM. 



Lancelot. 



Amphioxus lanceolalus, Cat. Col. Mus. B. lanceolatum, Giinth., 



VIIL, 513. 



Length nine and a half times the height, tapering both ways, but 

 more rapidly towards the head ; body nearly thi-ee times as long as tail 

 (vent to end). 



Opaque, black (in spirits), -with chevroned lines on the sides sloping 

 backward, and upward or downward from a line that i-uns nearer the 

 dorsal than the ventral surface ; fins translucent, olivaceous brown. 



Two specimens, both 1-9 inches long, and 0-2 inch high, are in the 

 Museum, obtained at Poverty Bay. 



