EDIULE FISHES. 127 



though differing in some respects from those foiiiul in tlie Waikato, hiis 

 decidedly the characters of li. osmerotdes. Specimens caught 16 miles 

 up the Wanganui River in the month of Novemljcr also have the 

 characters of 7i'. osmerotdes. They are 5 inches in length, and full of i-oe. 

 In the above collections, which comprise all the specimens in the Museinn, 

 it is always easy to distinguish the tish which answers to Richardson's 

 very minute description. They are of all sizes up to 4 inches, when I con- 

 sider they are adult, having a rather deep-shaped body, yellow coloiir, 

 with a silver streak on the side, a short conical snout and very large eye. 

 In the largest specimens the length of the body is less than four times that 

 of the head, and less than five times the height of the body. The cleft 

 of the mouth is small, and the teeth are very minute. The form of the 

 stomach corresponds with Richardson's description, being like a fleshy 

 tuboANT-tli a bend dividing it into an oesophageal and pyloric branch. On 

 the other hand, the specimens of R. osmeroides have the external appear- 

 ance of a true English Smelt, the body being more elongated than 

 the former species, especially in the case of the sj^ecimens from Taupo 

 Lake. The colour (in s})irits) of the Taupo specimens is also different 

 from the others, being a brown grey, with the silver band on the side veiy 

 indistinct, whilst the other specimens are yellow. In other respects they 

 have the same distinguishing characters from the type of R. Richardsoni, 

 which are, an elongated snout, deeply cleft mouth, powerful jaws, and 

 strong teeth. The stomach is also different in form, being a blind sac 

 with the oesophageal and pyloric oiifices close together. As these 

 differences are of considerable importance, I think it will be of advantage 

 for observers in recording the habits of these fish in the meantime to 

 distinguish between the two forms, even if they should ultimately prove 

 to be the same species. 



Both the large and the small Smelts form delicious food, the smallest 

 size when about 2 inches in length, being one of several young fish that 

 are called Whitebait. The large sjiecimens, 7 inches in length, were i 

 called Aua by the natives, which is also one name for the small Sea- 

 Mullet. The sketch of this fish given at PI. X. fig. 92 agrees in general 

 form and character rather with the larger form of this fish (R. Osmer- 

 oides) than wdth the adult of the type described by Richardson. 



9-i. KoKOPU. 



This is the general Maori name for several very common fishes in the 

 New Zealand streams and lakes, belonging to a family concerning wliich 



