124 



Messrs. J. Wood-Mason and A. Alcock on 



greatest heiglit of tlie body, at the shoulder, is three fourths 

 the length of the head. 



The broad, depressed, projecting, marginally inflated snout 

 is one third of the head 

 in length and twice the 

 major diameter of the 

 oval eye ; at least half 

 its extent is preoral. 

 The mouth is a small, 

 quite inferior, crescen- 

 tic orifice, in width 

 equal to tlie diameter 

 of the eye, its angle 

 barely reaching tlie 

 vertical through the 

 anterior border of the 

 orbit, though the max- 

 illa reaches nearly to 

 the vertical through 

 the middle of the orbit; 

 it is strongly protrac- ►i^ 

 tile downwards, and |- 

 looks as if adapted for 'i 

 suction. There appears *_ 

 to be a narrow band of |, 

 very minute teeth in | 

 the inner aspect of the ^ 

 upper jaw ; but tlie mm 

 lowerjaw is quite tooth- 

 less. 



The nostrils, which 

 are very large, are situ- 

 ated superiorly imme- 

 diately in front of the 

 eye. 



The gill-openings are 

 narrow, the mem- 

 branes being united to 

 the isthmus anteriorly ; 

 gill-rakers short, 

 coarse, cartilaginous. 



Head, body, and fins 

 uniformly invested 

 with a soft, thick, 

 gelatinous, scaleless skin. 



A single dorsal fin, the base of which is about three fourths 



