344 



DISCOVERY REPORTS 



Hob. Atlantic ; Japan. 



It is only after some hesitation that I have identified the specimen described above 

 w^ith Bellotti's species, as both his figure and that of Jordan and Thompson show a 

 very narrow space between the eye and the 

 maxillary, although in the description given 

 by the American authors the cheek is said to 

 be "deep and triangular, about four-fifths 

 of the diameter of the eye in depth ". Further, 

 the mouth seems to be somewhat larger in 

 the examples from Japan, and the diameter 

 of the eye is said to be 2-33 to 2-5 in the 

 length of the head. Caristius japonicus, Gill 

 and Smith, of which Platyberyx opalescens, 

 Zugmayer, may be a synonym [cf. Regan, 

 1912, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (8), x, p. 637], 

 is closely related to C. macropus, differing 

 chiefly in the narrower cheek, larger eye, 

 pluriserial teeth, and in the more anterior 

 insertion of the pelvic fins. There seems to 

 be little justification for placing C. macropus 

 in a distinct genus, as has been done by ^'S" 37- Carhtius macropus. (x i.) 



Jordan. There is no doubt that the species described by Bellotti and Gill and Smith 

 are congeneric, and, although the osteology of these fishes has not yet been studied, 

 I feel certain that Regan was right in placing them with the Berycoids. 



Family MELAMPHAIDAE 



Genus Melamphaes 



I have recently published a revision of this genus, based on the material obtained by 

 the 'Discovery', the specimens in the British Museum collection, including those 

 obtained by the 'Challenger', and a series of authenticated examples of certain 

 species kindly lent to me by the Smithsonian Institution of Washington (1929, 

 Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. Ser. 10, iv, p. 153). A few additional specimens have since come 

 to light, and are duly listed below, together with the remainder of the 'Discovery' 

 material. 



Melamphaes typhlops (Lowe, 1843). 

 Norman, ^f. p. 156. 

 II. xi. 25. 6° 55' N, 15° 54' W. 2 m. tow-net, horizontal, 800 (-0) m. : i specimen, 26 mm. (?). 

 Hab. Eastern North Atlantic. 



