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OCEANIC FISHES AND FLATFISHES 

 COLLECTED IN 1925-1927 



By J. R. Norman 



Assistant Keeper, Department of Zoology, British Museum (Natural History)^ 

 (Plate II, text-figs. 1-47). 



PART I. OCEANIC FISHES 



INTRODUCTION 



THE present report is based on the collections of oceanic fishes made by the R.R.S. 

 'Discovery' and, to a much less extent, by the R.R.S. 'William Scoresby' from 

 1925 to 1927, chiefly in the South Atlantic and Antarctic Oceans, at depths ranging 

 from the surface down to 3500 metres. No larval or postlarval specimens are included, 

 as this material will be the subject of a separate investigation. The report is entirely 

 systematic in nature, as it is the author's intention to defer any theoretical considerations 

 until a later date, when it is confidently expected that further material will be available. 

 The collections already studied, however, have proved of great interest, and since the 

 work of the Danish vessel, the ' Dana', and of several American investigators has been 

 confined chiefly to the northern parts of the ocean, the material brought back by the 

 ' Discovery' should add considerably to our knowledge of the fish fauna of the Atlantic. 



As will be seen from the list which follows, the number of species obtained is about 

 160, represented in all by more than 2000 specimens: of these 18 prove to be new to 

 science, 3 representing new genera. The identification of the members of the family 

 Gonostomatidae has proved a matter of some difliculty, and a revision of these fishes 

 has been included in this report, based not only on the Discovery material but on all 

 the specimens in the British Museum, including those obtained by the 'Challenger'. 

 Revisions of the fishes of the Berycoid genus Melamphaes, and of the family Chiasmo- 

 dontidae, also based on the Discovery collections, have already been published in the 

 Annals and Magazine of Natural History for last year. 



When a considerable amount of material of some well-known species has been ob- 

 tained from a number of different stations in the South Atlantic, no attempt has been 

 made to give a complete list of these records of locality, etc., in the usual manner, but 

 a general summary of the localities is given. All the text-figures accompanying this 

 report are the work of Lieut.-Col. W. P. C. Tenison, D.S.O. 



The author takes this opportunity of offering his thanks to the members of the 

 Discovery Committee for placing this valuable material at his disposal and for en- 

 trusting him with the preparation of this report. Thanks are also due and are heartily 

 ^ Submitted for publication by permission of the Trustees of the British Museum. 



