130 MEMOIFS OF THE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM. 



]\toreton Bay, that I am principally eonfenied. Prom Valenciennes' original 

 description of the West Atlantic fish our species differs in having — the greatest 

 height of the body situated immediately in advance of the ventral fins, where 

 it is fully one seventh more than at the origin of the anal; a longer Ijeak, ours 

 being two and a third times the rest of the head as against his ' ' not quite twice ' ' ; 

 the lower border of the maxillary dilation exposed, even when the jaws are 

 pressed closely together ; the greater part of the cephalic groove smooth, nowhere 

 granulose ; the thoracic region broadly rounded below, not trenchant ; the 

 branchiostegal membrane exposed; fewer dorsal rays. In Jordan and Ever- 

 mann's description of the same fish^" the authors state that— the width of the 

 body is ''not half of its greatest depth," that the caudal peduncle is "not 

 compressed," that the snout is only "twice the rest of the head," that the 

 maxillary is entirely concealed by the preorbital," and that the insertion of 

 the ventrals is "midway between front of arch of upper jaw and base of caudal." 

 Not one of these characters agrees with oiir species, which should, therefore, 

 be definitely separated from A. Mans. These authors, however, refer the 

 Hawaiian form to A. hians, but here again discrepancies occur between our 

 descriptions. For instance they write — Head 2-6 (2-1),^^ depth 9 (84) in 

 trunk; width of head about 2 (1-6) in its depth; eye about 2 (2-25) in post- 

 orbital head; dorsal (and anal) lobe much produced, "equal to head behind 

 the anterior border of nasal depression" {see figure) (less produced, only ecpial 

 to postorbital head), pectoral with 12 (14) rays, its length 3-3 (3-6) in 

 liead, ventral a little over -i (5-1) in head. As regards the Japanese 

 A. schismatoryncJius, included by Giinther in the synonymy of A. liians, the 

 task of differentiation with our species is more difficult, nevertheless valid 

 characters separating them can I think be found. From Jordan and Starks'^- 

 deseription of A. schismatorliynchus our fish differs in its more robust form, its 

 much longer head, longer jaws, longer pectoral, and differently shaped dorsal. 



ATHLENNES CffiRULEOFASCIATUS (Stead). 

 (Plate XIV.) 

 Tylosums coeridcojasciatus Stead, New Fish. N. S. Wales, No. 1, Sept. 1908, p. 3, pi. i. 



BARRED NEEDLE-FISH. 



Type locality: — Port Stephens, N.S.W. 



Body compressed, its width 1-85 in its depth, which is 14-3 in its length 

 and equal to the head behind the middle of the eye. Caudal peduncle about 

 one eighth deeper than wdde immediately behind the dorsal fin, its depth 1-7 

 in its length and 1-25 in the eye-diameter. Depth of head five eighths more 

 than its width and 5-15 in its length, which is 3-55 in that of the body. Post- 

 orbital length of head 3-4 in the length of the snout, Avhich is 5-05 in the body- 

 length. Jaws long and slender, of nearly equal length, not meeting posteriorly 

 when the mouth is closed. Proximal portion of premaxillary forming an elevated 

 ridge, which terminates in an acute point, its length 2-85 in that of the snout : 

 maxillary not entirelj^ concealed by the preorbital; proximal portion of lower 

 jaw exceedingly deep, its greatest depth 2-33 in the postorbital head. Diameter 



10 Fish. North & Mid. Amer., p. 718. 



^^ The measurements in brackets belong to A. cceruleofasciatus, and are inserted here 

 to facilitate comparison. 



12 Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., xxvi, p. 528. 



