16 



LOPHOBRANCHII. 



Descr. — Colour black, with very many white points, Gill-plates 

 striped by 10 or 11 rows of white dots, and between the lateral 

 line and the rim of the belly there are irregular white bands ex- 

 tending as far as to the 7th ring. From the 8th ring to the 

 anus there is between each pair of rings a dark cross line sprinkled 

 with white specks, and marbled. 



The Vienna Museum possesses a male specimen from Mexico. 



15. Hippocampus laevicaudatus, Heck. 



Diagn.— The dorsal as long as the head, and standing on 5 

 rings. Body-rings 11. 



Descr. — Allied to H. brevirostris. The eyes nearly in the 

 middle between the end of the snout and the gill-opening. Up 

 to the dorsal fin there are 8 rings. Tail without knobs, and the 

 gill-plate silvery. 



At Vienna there is a specimen from North America. 



16. Hippocampus coronatus, Temm. et Schl. 



Hippocampus coronatus, Temm. et Schl. Fauna Jap. p. 2/4 

 pi. 120. f. 8. 



Diagn. — Pedestal of the irregular coronet very tall. Height of 

 the head nearly as great as its length. Ten body-rings. 



Descr. — This species is isolated by its stilted coronal pe- 

 destal, and is one of the finest discoveries made by the Dutch 

 naturalists in Japan. Its size is from 4 to 5 inches. The two 

 hinder tips of the coronet are the most developed. The youn» 

 have more prominent spines than the old ones, but the pedestal 

 of the coronet is not so high. On the rim of the orbit iu the 

 region of the nostrils and round the breast-ring the spines are 

 longer and more pointed ; the 2nd, 4th and 1 0th rings are gibbous 

 along the back, as are also the 3rd, 9th, 13th and 18th tail-rings. 

 In the female the 9th body-ring is as high as the last four bodv- 

 rings are long. Colour yellowish, marbled with dark brown and 

 edged on the back with black. 



It is only in the Leyden collection that I have met with this 

 species, which is pretty common in Japan and perhaps in 

 China. 



