Narrative of Bahama Expedition. 151 



The distance between the eyes is one-half incli, and the width 

 of the mouth three-fourths inch. 



Of course it is aUoi^^etlier probable that the ichthyologist 

 will recognize in this a well-known form, but to the laity it is 

 one of the strangest of the strange Hsh collected by our expe- 

 dition. 



Among the most grotesque forms were two species of 

 "bat-fish" secured from a depth of sixty fathoms. One of 

 these [Malthe sp.) was less than two inches long, with a 

 strong, conical rostral process, which was one-third as long as 

 the distance from the mouth to the base of the caudal fin. 

 This process imparts a most ludicrous expression to the pro- 

 file of the fish, mvinij a comical resemblance to a human face 

 with large eves and an enormous nose. The head is much 

 deeper than the body, and its top is ornamented by two series 

 of conical spines which unite at the centre of the back. Sim- 

 ilar spines are conspicuous on the margins of the body and on 

 the tail. The pectoral fins greatly resemble the legs of a frog, 

 and the ventrals are small and rather widely separated. The 

 other species belongs apparently to the genus Halientichthys. 

 It resembles a ray in general outline, being exceedingly flat 

 with greatly expanded sides, the width of the bod\' nearly 

 equaling the distance from the mouth to the base of the tail. 

 Total length three inches; mouth small; rostrum not produced. 

 The bodv is marked with a reticulate pattern of brownish 

 lines, and covered with blunt spines. 



But the most remarkable species of all was a worni-like 

 creature which came up with the bat-fish just described. At 

 first sight we could hardly believe that it was a fish at all. 

 The animal was twelve inches long and only three-sixteenths 

 of an inch in diameter. It was scaleless, being as smooth to 

 the touch as an earth-worm. The head was not differentiated- 

 from the body, and was produced into a short, pointed snout. 

 The eyes were large, the mouth inferior, and opening some 

 distance behind the end of the snout. The upper jaw was 

 armed with four large, sharp, slightly recurved teeth, pass- 

 ing in front of the lower jaw when the mouth is closed. 



