'^S2 Mr. C. T. Ke-au— J Picvisi'on 



LOPHIOMUS, Gill*. 



Teeth in the lower jaw mostly in 3 series, anteriorly 

 in 4—5 series ; opercular membrane without free posterior 

 margin ; gill-openings wide, below the pectorals and extending 

 beyond them posteriorly ; pectorals broad, with 22—23 rays, 

 iheir bases can be received within the gill-openings. Dorsal 

 with about VI, 8 rays^ anal with about 6, the last ray of each 

 being cleft to the base and supported by a single basal bjne. 

 Yertebraj about 19. 



There is only one well-established species which certainly 

 belongs to this genus, viz., Lophiomus setiqeriis, Wahl. 

 After examining examples of Lophius iudicus, Alcock, I have 

 no hesitation in pronouncing them to belong to L. setigerus, 

 .•IS Dr. Alcock himself suggested might prove to be the case. 

 8ir Andrew Sniith''s description of Loplu'us upsicephalus from 

 the Cape of Good Hope is, so far as it goes, perfectly applic- 

 able to L. setigerus; and I have examined a large stuffed 

 specimen of L. upsicephalus from Sir A. Smithes collection, 

 iti which the number of dorsal, anal, and pectoral rays is 

 the same as in L. setigerus, with which it also agrees in 

 the general form of the body and in the dentition; in this 

 specimen the humeral spine is wanting. Several examples of 

 L. setigerus show that during growth the posterior or lateral 

 series of small fixed teeth in the premaxillarics increases 

 owing to the appearance of additional teeth at its anterior end; 

 thus a specimen loO mm. long has 8-9 teeth in this series on 

 each side, occupying the posterior third of the length of the 

 premaxillarics, one 200 mm. has 12-13, and one 400 mm., 

 19-21, now extending over more than half the length of the 

 bone. The example of L. upsicephalus is lOiO mm. long 

 and these teeth occupy |-f of the length of the bone, and 

 are 31-34 in number. So far as is known, then, L. upsi- 

 cephalus is not distinct from L. setigerus] and as this species 

 is now known to range from the Malabar Coast to the Seas 

 of China and Japan, its occurrence at the Cape of Good Hope 

 cannot be regarded as surprising. 



1 have examined ten examples of L. setigerus ; the head is 

 as broad as long, and equal to about halt the total length, 

 Avithout caudal ; there are VI, 8 dorsal, 6 anal, and 22-23 

 pectoral rays ; the humeral spine is coarse and normally ends 

 in 5 points, but in two specimens there are 6-8 points; there 

 are 2-3 teeth on each side of the vomer. In the young the 



* Lophiomus cmdinaris, Garman, may belong to this genus. Head as 

 broad as long, humeral spine trifid. D. VI, 8; A. 6; P. 17-18. 18 

 vertcbrye. 



