22 LOPHOBRANCHII. 



Genus 1. HALICAMPUS, Kp. 



Diagn. — Snout thin and short, set with three rows of small 

 spines, and distinctly separated from the high forehead and 

 elevated and spinous borders of the orbits. Eyes project- 

 ine. Hind-head, nape, and breast-shield furnished with a 

 rough, elevated, comb-like crest. Breast-ring broader at 

 the pectoral fins than the body. Dorsal fin standing on an 

 elevation formed by three rings only. Borders of the body 

 rough, and furnished with various cutaneous filaments. 



This genus is the representative in its own subfamily of the 

 genus Hippocampus, and is allied to the genera Corythoichthys 

 and Trachyrhamphus. 



1. Halicampus conspicillatus, Kp. 



Syngnathus conspicillatus, Jenyns, Voy. of Beagle, p. 147- pi. 27. 



f.4. 

 Halicampus Grayi, Kp. British Museum. 



Descr. — Snout measured from the orbits as long as the 

 distance from thence to the edge of the operculum. Operculum 

 small, and divided into two dissimilar parts by a denticulated 

 line standing out in relief; the broader under part being scarred, 

 and varied by from 8 to 9 prominent curved lines. A trace of a 

 cutaneous filament exists on the rough rim of the orbit ; and in 

 the rough, concave forehead there are two lines in relief, which 

 are confluent above the nostrils ; there being in the middle also 

 a spiny crest. Posteriorly the breast-ring falls abruptly away 

 and rises again near the pectoral fin in a pyramidal form. Gill- 

 opening situated very high up. There are 15 body-rings before 

 the dorsal fin, and 1/ before the vent. They are made rough by 

 prominent lines, short projections, and rugged marginal bunches. 

 Warts exist on the small intermediate dorsal scales of the body 

 and tail, and occasionally serve as roots of cutaneous filaments. 

 Three rings, one of them only belonging to the tail, sustain the 

 dorsal finf Each tail-ring has a small spinous projection on its 

 under edge, that resists the finger when drawn along it. The 

 tail, which is slightly longer than the body, is composed of from 

 32 to 37 rings. In the male specimen preserved in the British 

 Museum there are dark brown scales projecting over the egg- 

 pouch, and every ring is notched. The head is brown, with two 

 white specks or stripes on the gill-cover, one black speck near 

 the pectoral fin, and another close to the dorsal fin. The fins 

 are bluish and translucent, and the base of the dorsal is black. 



