1894. rEOCEEDINdS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 463 



Its body is much compressed, its greatest widtli sliylitly more tbaii 

 oue-thiid lieiglit of the body at vent. 



Scales round, thin, flexible, very small upon the head (not wider than 

 the diameter of one of the dorsal spines), but ui)on the anterior half of 

 the body about three times as large, decreasing in size u})on posterior 

 half, until upon tail they are smaller than upon head. Number of 

 scales in lateral line not far from 400. (In the partially digested speci- 

 men before me it is impossible to mak(i an exact enumeration.) Num- 

 ber between lateral line and dorsal tin, about 20; between lateral line 

 and anal tin, about 30. Head covered in every i)art, ev^eu the lips, with 

 small scales, of which there are about 40 between eye and end of oper- 

 cular llap. Scales deeply embedded (in life ar«». probably hidden 

 beneath a slimy epidermis). 



Length of the head about 7;^ in that of body. Bones are all flexible, 

 and their outlines are invisible without dissection, the whole being cov- 

 ered with a leathery skin. Width of interorbital space appears to be 

 (in the mutilated head) somewhat greater than length of snout and 

 about one-fourth length of the head. Diameter of orbit appears to be 

 about one-half width of interorbital space. Length of postorbital por- 

 tion of head nearly three times that of snout. Length of mandibular 

 bone slightly exceeds twice diameter of eye; that of upper jaw consid- 

 erably greater. Teeth in upper jaw blunt, acicular, set side by side 

 like the teeth of a comb, about 32 on each side. In lower jaw shorter, 

 slenderer, and in double rows. Villiform teeth upon i^ralatines. 



Dorsal fin begins at a distance from snout not far from two and 

 three fourth times length of the head, and nearly over the one hundred 

 and tenth scale of lateral line; it consists of ten low, widely separated 

 spines, unconnected by any membrane. Distance between first and 

 tenth spine nearly double length of head. 



Spines from fourth to ninth about ecjuidistant, while the other inter- 

 spaces are shorter. 



Distance from snout to anal fin equal to about four times length of 

 head. Anterior spinous portion of anal resembles dorsal and is devoid 

 of connecting membrane. (The membrane is also absent from the pos- 

 terior half of the fin, but may possibly have been destroyed.) Anal 

 rays extend to tip of tail and number about 130, the number of spines 

 being 1!>. Anal begins immediately behind vent, and its length of base 

 is slightly less than half that of body (less by a lengtli about equal to 

 the distance from the angle of the mouth to the gill opening). 



Pectoral fin placed at a distance behind the gill-opening about equal 

 to width of its own base (its length is at least double this distance — 

 how much more can not be determined, but the fin is evidently short 

 and rounded in contour, the upper rays longest). Its base is stout-pedun- 

 cular, and thickly covered with scales. 



Distance of the veutrals from snout equal to that of the dorsal. 



