FISHES— MCCULLOCH. 27 



of Holothurice. Dunckeri considers this species to be syn- 

 onymous with C. couspiciUatus, Jenyns,2 together with several 

 other species described by Jordan and his colleagues. Having 

 examined all the material available to me, I am sure that 

 C. intestinalis and C. HHiitei, Jord. & Scale, ^ are identical, 

 and, as I have recorded^ the latter from Cooktown, Queens- 

 land, Ramsay's species is rightly included in Australian 

 literature.] 



Genus Solegnathus, Sivainson. 



SoLEGNATHUS SPixosissiMUS, Giinther. 



Spiny Sea-Horse. 



Solenognathiis spinosissimus, Giinther, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish, 

 viii., 1870, p. 195; id., Waite, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. 

 Wales, ix. (2), 1894, p. 222, pi. xvii., figs. 5 and 8. 



Sixteen specimens of this species were preserved. They 

 were obtained in 15-45 fathoms in Shoalhaven Bight, New 

 South Wales. 



Solegnathus fasclatus, Giinther. 



Solenognathus fasciatus, Giinther, Chall. Rep., Zool., i.> 

 1880, p. 30, pi. xiv., fig. B. ; id., Waite, Proc. Linn. Soc. 

 N.S. Wales, ix. (2), 1894, pp. 220 and 227. 



Duncker^ considers this species to be identical with the pre- 

 ceding. I have carefully compared the thirteen specimens 

 obtained with those of 5. spinosissimus and have endeavoured 

 to find some more definite character than the form of the 

 scutes to distinguish the two. They are, however, identical 

 in every other respect, and though this one difference holds 

 good in a large number of specimens, yet the species cannot 

 but be considered to be based on a very uncertain footing. 

 The scutes are well shown by Waite in the figures quoted. 



Though several specimens have the pseudo-marsupium in 

 such a condition that it is evident that they were carrying eggs 

 when obtained, only two have them still attached. The most 

 perfect of these bears forty-five eggs, and it would seem that 

 only a very few are missing. They are very similar to those 

 of S. spinosissimus as described by Waite, but are in a less 

 advanced stage of development, and are arranged in about 

 five very irregular rows commencing directly behind the vent 



1 Duncker— Faun. Siidwest-Austr.. ii., 1909, p. 237. 



2 Jenyns— ZooL Beagle, iii., 1842, p. 147, pi. xxvii., fig. 4. 



3 Jordan and Seale— Bull. U.S. Bur. Fish., xxv., 1905 (1906), p. 212. fig. 17. 



4 McCulloch— Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, xxxv., 1910, p. 432. 



5 Duncker— Faun. Siidwest-Austr., ii., 1909, p. 235. 



