Description of a Fish resembling the St ylephorus. &> 



gether with the presence of one slit on each side of the neck 

 below for respiration, and a universal softness of the parts, fix 

 its place among the Cartilaginous. 



I proceed to a more particular description of its figure and 

 dimensions. 



The mouth had an enormous gape ; and the throat, for the 

 space of six inches, was but a membranous bag. It was capa- 

 cious enough to receive my hand without difficulty. The in- 

 ternal surface was black. There was no appearance of a 

 tongue. 



From the upper part of the mouth, or the spot where the 

 upper maxillary bones unite, to the angle of the jaw, was three 

 inches ; and from, that angle to the tip of the lower jaw, three 

 inches. 



The symphysis of the chin had a very flexible joint, that was 

 capable of opening or expanding from a most acute angle to a 

 right line, or as nearly so as the curvature of the bones per- 

 mitted. This construction, with a corresponding laxity of the 

 jaws gave the mouth an extraordinary power of expansion. 

 Yet, when the angles of the jaws are approximated, and the 

 bones of the lower jaw brought to their parallelism, the mouth 

 closes with exactness, and in that state gives no indication of 

 the size to which it spreads when open. 



The lower jaw was toothless ; but the upper jaw, for about 

 an inch and a half, was furnished with a row of teeth, bony 

 and hooked. 



The eyes were situated about half an inch from the point of 

 the upper jaw, one on each side, and looking forward. They 

 were small, and did nut exceed in diameter the sixteenth of an 

 inch. 



The head was smaller than is usual in fish. It would seem 

 that its principal use was to give origin and insertion to the 

 bones and muscles of the jaws. At its foremost point is a 

 small knob or projection forward of the eyes ; and from it 

 proceeded a sort of frsenura sustaining the upper lip. From 



