88 CHORDATED STYLEPHORUS. 



nature. Beneath this, on each side, are three small 

 pair of branchiae. The body is extremely long and 

 compressed very much, and gradually diminishes 

 as * it approaches the tail, which terminates in a 

 string or process of an enormous length, and finishes 

 in a very fine point. This string, or caudal process, 

 seems to be strengthened throughout its whole 

 length, or at least as far as the eye can trace it, by 

 a sort of double fibre or internal part. The pec- 

 toral fins are very small, and situated almost imme- 

 diately behind the cavity on each side the thorax. 

 The dorsal fin, which is of a thin and soft nature, 

 runs from the head to within about an inch of the 

 tail, when it seems suddenly to terminate, and a 

 bare space is left of about a quarter of an inch. I 

 am, however, not altogether without my doubts 

 whether it might not, in the living animal, have run 

 on quite to the tail, and whether the specimen 

 might not have received some injury in that part. 

 From tjiis place commences a smaller fin which 

 constitutes part of the caudal one. The caudal fin 

 itself is furnished with five remarkable spines, the 

 roots or originations of which may be traced to 

 some depth in the thin part of the tail. The gene^ 

 ral colour of this fish is a rich silver, except on the 

 flexible part belonging to the rostrum, which. is of 

 a deep brown : the fins and caudal process are also 

 brown, but not so deep as the part just mentioned. 

 There is no appearance of scales on this fish. From 

 the very singular figure and situation of the eyes 

 I have given it the generic name of Stylephorus> 

 and as the trivial name cannot be taken from any 



