170 Mr. J. Y. Johnson on rare and little-known 



body to the length as 1 to 7h The head, between the eyes, is 

 concave; two crests with numerous small spines commence over 

 the middle of the eyes, and run backwards. The postero-supe- 

 rior orbit of the eye is spinous, and a spinous crest runs back- 

 wards from it. The rest of the head is covered with minute 

 villiform spines, except the space around each pair of nostrils, 

 which is naked. The large eye is contained about three times 

 its longer diameter in the head, about twelve times in the total 

 length, and is distant about one diameter from the tip of the 

 snout. The eyes are separated from each other by a space 

 about equal to their own shorter diameter. The projecting 

 snout is subcarinate both above and below, and it is sub- 

 trilobate at the tip. There runs backwards from it between 

 the eye and the mouth, almost to the posterior angle of the 

 subopercle, a keel or broad crest (bearing a band of small 

 spines), that gives a remarkable appearance to the head. The 

 mouth is on the under side of the head, as in the case of the 

 Shark tribe. The upper border of the mouth is formed partly 

 by the premaxillary and partly by the maxillary; but only the 

 former is set with teeth. There is a villiform band of teeth in 

 each jaw, but none on the palate, vomer, or tongue. The upper 

 jaw is very protractile. The pharynx and the inside of the gill- 

 covers are black. The chin carries a short barbel. 



The first dorsal fin has ten rays, and is a little posterior to 

 the vertical passing through the roots of the pectoral and ven- 

 tral fins. Its longest rays, when pressed to the back, reach to 

 the commencement of the second dorsal. It begins at a distance 

 from the snout equal to about one-fourth of the total length of 

 the fish, and its height is rather less than the height of the body 

 under it, but much greater than that of the second dorsal. The 

 first ray is not serrated ; it is slightly longer, but not stronger, 

 than the next three rays. The last ray is about one-third of the 

 length of the first. 



The second dorsal fin commences behind the commencement 

 of the anal fin, and is much lower than that fin. Both of them 

 unite with the caudal without a break. The space separating 

 the two dorsal fins is about one-third the length of the head. 



The pointed pectoral fins are inserted near the border of the 

 opercle, and their length is about equal to half the length of the 

 head ; they reach backwards to the commencement of the anal 

 fin, but not quite so far as the commencement of the second 

 dorsal fin. 



The ventral fins are placed under the roots of the pectoral 

 fins. The first ray is produced, and reaches back as far as the 

 vent, which is situated at a distance from the tip of the snout 

 equal to one-third of the total length of the fish. Between the 



