Indian Deep-sea Dredging. 25 



with dusky pigment; villiform teeth in the jaws only. Gill- 

 cleft a small foramen situated superiorly in the axilla ; two 

 gills ; no pseudobranchise. 



Dorsal surface of the cephalic disk and entire surface of the 

 tail covered with stout spines, which are marked with nume- 

 rous trenchant radiating costee ; those on the tail and in tiiree 

 series along the margin of the disk are widely bifid, those 

 elsewhere are acicular. Under surtace of the cephalic disk 

 without spines, but with distant granular tubercles. Fins in 

 form and disposition as in Dibranchus atlanticus ; the pec- 

 torals and caudal are coequal in length, being contained 4^ 

 times in the total, and are slightly longer than the ventrals. 



A wide coiled intestine ; no pyloric casca ; no air-bladder. 



Colours in life : — Blue-blacky edge of disk and anterior 

 part of abdomen jet-black. 



One specimen '6'2 inches long, from Station 115, 188 to 

 220 fathoms. 



10. Dibranchus nticropus, sp. n, 

 (PI. Vn. figs. 2, 2 a, 2 b.) 



D. 5. A. 4. C. 9. P. 15. V. 5? 



Head and anterior part of body depressed, forming a disk 

 which is nearly as broad as long and is truncated in front ; 

 there are strong, sharp, simple and bifid spines along its 

 margin, and at the subopercular angle a large trifid one. 



The broad front, which is so abruptly truncated as to leave 

 no appearance of a snout, is widely but not deeply excavated 

 below for the lodgment of a large fieshy supra-oral tentacle ; 

 this is trilobed, the lateral lobes being smoothly hemi- 

 spherical and the middle (superior) lobe being foliaceous, witli 

 a fringed margin. On eacii side of t!ie subrosiral cavity are 

 the large exsert subtubular nostrils. Eyes small. 



Mouth-cleft horizontal ; its width is contained about 2^ 

 times in that of the disk ; jaws with a row or very narrow 

 band of minute teeth. Gill-cleft a small foramen situated 

 superiorly in the axilla and barely wider than the nostril ; 

 two gills only. 



Entire surface of body closely covered with fine, short, 

 bristle-like spines, which have stellate bases and either simple 

 or bifid points. 



Fins in form and position as in Dibranchus atlanticus • the 

 pectorals are large, being as long as the caudal, which in the 

 specimens under examination is nearly as long as the rest of 

 the tail ; the ventrals are minute. 



