376 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [88] 
limeters in length, which he at first supposed to belong partly to 
Xiphias, partly to Histiophorus, but in which he afterward (in another 
contribution, same journal, third part, p. 265) rightly recognized that 
he had before him only young Histiophori. I have before me such 
a series of young Histiophorus,* of from 54 to 21 millimeters in length, 
the smallest of them so little that they could have been only a very 
short time out of the egg. It is possible that they represent more than 
one species; however, it can scarcely be established with certainty. 
Not very much that is new can be added from this material to the in- 
formation contributed by Dr. Giinther, but since some of them are 
smaller than the least of Dr. Giinther’s examples, I have been able -to 
follow the history of the metamorphoses of the genus a little step farther 
back towards its starting-point. The largest specimen before me is 21 
millimeters long, and stands in this respect between the two examples 
figured by Dr. Giinther (2 and 3, p. 443), which were from 14 to 60 mil- 
limeters long. (H. pulchellus may be regarded as the next link in the 
series after Giinther’s largest [3].) Because of the somewhat dried con- 
dition of his example, he could not give full information about the un- 
paired fins, and I have therefore not figured it in the example measur- 
ing 21 millimeters. The head from the point of the snout to the margin 
of the gill-cover was 10 millimeters, or nearly the half; and of these 10 
millimeters the snout (that is, the upper jaw as far back as the eye) 
_again made the half, or 5 millimeters ; the portion of the lower jaw which 
extends forward in front of the eye equalled two-fifths of this, or 2 milli- 
meters. The supraorbital margin is strongly projecting and finely 
toothed; the forehead sinks abruptly towards the snout; the orbito-tem- 
poral crest is continued behind in a horizontal, backward-directed, 
pointed, three-sided, serrate nuchal spine. The spine arising from the 
angle of the preoperculum has a similar form and sculpture, but is some- 
what curved and much longer and more compressed; it reaches nearly 
half as far back as the pectorals. Far beyond both of these extend the 
venirals, apparently composed of but a single ray. The skin is smooth ; 
the caudal not forked; the jaw-teeth strong; the anterior teeth in the 
lower jaw are especially distinguished in this respect. Besides this ex- 
ample, the Museum possesses a series of young of 5} to 12 millimeters in 
length, which differ very little one from another. All these small fish 
(in which one, if he did not know the above description or the interme- 
diate link restored by Giinther, would have difficulty in recognizing 
Histiophori, but would more readily suspect a developmental stage of a 
Dactylopterus-like fish) have a marked frontal depression and a short, 
broad, pointed snout or “ bill,” of which the upper jaw, beset with strong 
teeth, is very little longer than the lower jaw; strong curved teeth dis- 
* The localities in which these small Histiophori or Tetrapturi were taken are: 37° 
30’ N. lat., 52° 15’ W. long. ; 23° 22’ N. lat., 31° 48’ W. long.; 14° 44’ N. lat., 61° 19’ 
W. long.; 4° N. lat., 29° W. long. 
