172 WAITE 
however, leave the terminal two-fifths of the spine smooth, the 
third spine is less than the diameter of the eye, the two following 
ones are still shorter; the soft dorsal is separated from the 
spinous portion by a sub-horizontal space equal to its base, the 
fourth ray is the longest, one-sixth greater than the eye: the 
base of the anal is twice that of the dorsal, but both fins 
terminate in the same vertical: the ventral is small, and is 
inserted midway between the front of the eye and the end of 
the anal, it is receivable into a groove: the upper rays of the 
pectoral are twice the diameter of the eye: the caudal is 
emarginate, its length is one-half longer than the eye, and the 
peduncle is very narrow, its depth being but one-half the eye. 
Scales——Head and body covered with small elongated rough 
scales which are spinous, and extend over the greater part of 
the eye, the bony strip mentioned as passing over the eye extends 
to midway between the pectoral and dorsal and is obliquely 
crossed by three other strips, the two last of which join another 
sub-horizontal strip, which passes to the base of the first dorsal 
spine. 
Colours—Upper parts red, lower parts silvery, all the fins 
pink in life. 
Length.—106 mm. 
This species which was but once taken, constitutes an addition 
to the known fauna of the Dominion, though examples were 
taken by the Challenger Expedition between Sydney and 
Wellington. It was obtained in the Bay of Plenty: of the 
number netted, seventeen examples were secured, mainly by 
means of a hand-net as they escaped through the large meshes 
of the trawl, but scores were lost. The depth attained at Station 
89 was 66-94 fathoms, the bottom being charted as sand, shell 
and mud. 
The New Zealand examples agree very closely with the 
descriptions of the Mediterranean and Atlantic M. scolopaz, 
Johnson® recorded the species from Tasmania, but the 
New South Wales specimens differ considerably, and 
have been distinguished under the name M. elevatus." 
(6) Johnston, Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasm. 1884, p. 255. 
(7) Waite, Mem. Aust. Mus. iy. 1899, p. 59, pl. vii. fig. 1. 
