cf the Bay of Bengal &c. 459 



Colours in life : — '' Head and dorsum pale chocolate ; ven- 

 ter pale silvery slate " {Dr. G. M. Giles). In spirit vertical 

 fins transparent white ; pectorals dark brown, edged with light 



^^^y- . . .... 



One specimen, a female 14 inches long, with gravid ovaries. 

 Hab. Bay of Bengal, lat. 20° IV 30'' N., long. 88° bV E., 

 in 193 fathoms. 



.Group? Allied to Saccopharyngina. 



Dysomma, gen. nov. 



Soft tissues well developed ; osseous tissues weak. Body 

 high anteriorly and the head much inflated. Tail tapering to 

 a point. Vent situated immediately behind the gill-opening. 

 Snout shorty slightly overhanging tlie mouth, its surface with 

 many pores. Eyes minute, concealed beneath the skin. 

 Nostrils large, lateral. Cleft of mouth wide. JMinute sharp 

 teeth in a single row in each jaw ; a row of larger teeth in 

 the vomer. Tongue not free. Four gills, communicating 

 with the pharynx by wide slits. Osseous elements of the 

 gill-cover rudimentary or absent. Gill-openings separate. 

 Head situated between the gills. No scales. Vertical tins 

 fairly developed, the dorsal beginning just behind the occiput. 

 Pectorals well developed. 



Dysomma hucephalus ^ sp. nov. 



Head posteriorly deep and much inflated, its length mea- 

 sured to the gill-opening nearly one fourth of the total. Vent 

 situated with the abdominal pore on a large, round, fleshy 

 clitellum immediately behind the gill-opening. Height of 

 the body at the anal level 10^ in the total, and gradually 

 diminishing to a point at the tip of the tail. 



Snout short, about one sixth the length of the head 

 measured to the gill-opening, broad, depressed, rounded, it 

 and the cheeks studded with minute pores. Eyes minute, 

 their diameter about one flftli the length of the snout, con- 

 cealed beneath semitransparent, partly pigmented skin. 

 Nostrils large, the anterior tubular, situated near the tip of 

 the snout, the posterior valvular, almost on the eye. Mouth 

 wide ; jaws weak ; lips inflated, each with several rows of 

 small pores. Teeth minute, sharp, in a single row in both 

 jaws, in a single short row, rather larger, in the vomer. 

 Tongue not free. The gill-covers are formed of a tough skin, 

 in which neither bony opercles nor branchiostegal rays are 



33* 



