42 



LOPHOBRANCHII. 



fin longer than the snout and head together, standing on 

 9 or 10 rings, and supported by 39 or 40 rays. 



Descr. — This species attains to a great size, authors say even 

 to 3 feet, though I have met with none exceeding 16 inches in 

 length. From the acute and projecting upper border of the orbit 

 a raised edge runs to the elevated and scarred hind-head, which 

 has a median longitudinal line rising in relief. There is also on 

 the dorsal aspect of the snout a raised line, which entering be- 

 tween the orbits reaches the forehead. Gill-cover swollen, with 

 a prominent hue at its commencement, and in both directions 

 roughly pointed and striped. Back slightly concave. Lateral 

 line interrupted at the anal ring. Cross-bands are shown more 

 or less distinctly on the body and tail by well-preserved speci- 

 mens, and on the tail there are irregular longitudinal streaks, 

 as in tenuirostris. 



A male. A female. A female. A female. A male. 



Total length 13-40 in. 1379 in. 14'92 in. 15-12 in. 16"95 in. 



Length of snout l - 06 ,, 1-02 „ T20 ,, l - 20 „ T02 „ 



Length of dorsal fin 1-65 „ 1-62 „ 1*81 „ 1'89 „ 177,, 



No. of ravs of dorsal fin.. 10 10 10 9 10 



No. of body-rings 18 18 18 18 18 



No. of caudal rings 45 44 45 43 44 



Owing to the older authors having described Siphonostoma 

 typhle under the name of Acus, Linnseus has mingled his refer- 

 ences in such a way that they can scarcely be disentangled. 

 Acus is found in all museums ; obtained from the Atlantic Ocean, 

 rarelv from the Adriatic. 



16. Syngnathus brachyrhynchus, Kp. 



Descr. — This has all the characters of Acus ; but its snout is 

 shorter, being equal in length to the distance between the fore 

 border of the orbit and the proximal edge of the pectoral ring. 



A dried male specimen from the Isle of Bourbon, sent by M. 

 Nigou, exists in the Paris Museum. It is, excluding the caudal 

 fin, 11"82 inches long; the head measures 1"42 inch; the snout 

 0'/9 inch ; up to the dorsal fin the measurement is 4"64 inches, 

 and the rings of the dorsal fin are 1"38 inch long. 



17. Syngnathus variegatus, Pallas. 



Syngnathus variegatus, Rathke, t. 11. f. 7- §• 



Diagn. — The short snout, measured from the fore-angle of the 

 eye, equal in length to the distance from thence to the 



