68 LOPHOBRANCHII. 



which the body is protected show very slightly through the in- 

 tegument, and are not angular. The upper cutaneous border 

 is interrupted on the twenty-first shield, on the hinder part of 

 which the dorsal begins and is continued to the thirty-third 

 shield. On the thirty-fourth shield the border again appears, 

 but not so broad, and it goes on decreasing in height to the 

 eighty-eighth, where it ends ; the tail at the same time growing 

 more and more slender, and ending in a narrow point, but sup- 

 porting a very small caudal, with eight simple jointed rays. The 

 under cutaneous border ends just before the anus, around which 

 there is a dense patch of villi, which conceal the orifice, and 

 cover a space of the length of a shield and a half. 



" The snout, measured to the fore-part of the orbit, is one- 

 twenty-fourth part of the entire length of the fish ; and the head, 

 from the tip of the snout to the end of the operculum, forms 

 between the twelfth and thirteenth part. The snout is compressed, 

 obtuse above, and more acute below. A flattish space, with a 

 faint mesial ridge equal to a diameter of the orbit, separates the 

 eyes above. A smooth, somewhat elevated superciliary ridge on 

 each side of this space, and extending to the nostrils, renders it 

 concave. The operculum is obtusely oval, and it shows little 

 pits on its surface, disposed in lines. Other parts of the head 

 and snout show similar pits as the fish dries ; but in the recent 

 state the bones must be tolerably well covered by the integu- 

 ments, and there are no rough ridges or angular points, except 

 a projection apparently of the suboperculum, which is joined to 

 its fellow underneath, and points directly downwards below the 

 short vertical limb of the preoperculum. The gill-opening is 

 very minute, and is pierced over the posterior quarter of the 

 operculum. 



" All the specimens have been kept long in spirits, and have a 

 dull brownish tint, without spots. 

 " Dimensions : — 



inches. 



" Length from end of snout to tip of tail 12 - 05 



" Length from end of snout to vent 6T5 



" Length from end of snout to end of gill-plate . 0\ Q 5 

 " Length from end of snout to gill-ojjening. . . . 091 



" Length from end of snout to eye 0"50 



" Length from vent to tip of tail 5*90 



" Some specimens measure 5 or 6 inches more in length. 



" Hab. The Falkland Islands." 



The two nostrils are shortly tubular and placed obliquely. In 

 a female I found two ovaries of equal length, and measuring 

 2"21 inches. That which we observe in very young examples of 



