274 M. K. F. Kessler on a remarkable 



the riglit, and sometimes the left) there are one or two scutes 

 more than in the other ; they begin at a little distance behind 

 the pectoral fins, and extend to the base of the ventrals. The 

 scutes are a little like the dorsal ; but their crest is somewhat 

 less developed, and appears generally as a ridge without the 

 hook ; only in young specimens the crest is comparatively 

 higher and ends in a spine. The anterior are frequently very 

 small and a little removed from the others, which are more or 

 less closely joined together. 



The scutes of all the rows, as well as the interspaces between 

 the rows, are more or less covered with a thick soft skin, in 

 which are imbedded bony corpuscles looking like small thorns 

 or longitudinal ribs, in consequence of which the whole of the 

 skin apj)ears rough. Only behind the ventrals scutes begin to 

 appear on the skin, wliich gradually increase in size and become 

 imbricate, so that the whole of the tail is surrounded by them. 

 The largest of these scutes occupy the space between the anus 

 and the beginning of the anal fin, and are placed in pairs (four 

 or five pairs), with the exception of the last one, which is single, 

 oblong, and directly joins the anal fin. At the front margin 

 of the anus there are no scutes of any kind. Four pairs of 

 thick scutes occupy the space between the end of the anal fin 

 and the beginning of the caudal ; towards the centre this space 

 appears to be slightly concave, like a shallow gutter. Four 

 pairs of flat scutes cover the dorsal side of tlie tail (which is 

 slightly flat) from the posterior end of the dorsal fin to the 

 beginning of the row of fulcra covering the upperside of the 

 thin end of the tail opposite to the caudal. Of these fulcra 

 the three anterior are more or less flat, laminate. The whole 

 of the base of the dorsal fin is surrounded on both sides with 

 narrow, almost lanceolate bony scutes. 



The fins, both paired and single, are very much like the 

 corresponding fins of the fishes of this family. The front rays 

 of the fins are simple, and the posterior more or less branched. 

 The first outer ray of the pectorals differs very little in diameter 

 from the others ; only it is considerably thicker at the base. 

 The fins themselves are very broad, and their hind margin is 

 round. The ventral fins, which are considerably narrower, 

 are also round at the end. The dorsal fin has a rhomboid 

 form ; the anal fin is more rounded, square ; and the caudal 

 fin has the shape of a broad triangle. In each of the pectoral 

 fins there are from thirty-six to forty rays, and in each of the 

 ventrals from eighteen to twenty; the dorsal contains from 

 thirty to thirty-four, the anal from nineteen to twenty, and the 

 caudal fin from sixty to seventy rays. The end of the tail 

 ends in a move or less thin filament ; and it is necessary 



