88 Dr. A. Giinther on three new Trachinoid Fishes. 



The specimen, which is discoloured, was brought from New 

 Zealand, and deposited in the British Museum. 



lines. 



Total length 41 



Length of the head 9^ 



Greatest width of the head 7\ 



Greatest depth of the head 6 



Greatest depth of the body 6 



Diameter of the eye I3 



Distance of the vent from the snout 12 



Length of the pectoral fin 9 



Length of the ventral tin 6 



Length of the caudal fin 4^ 



The second new species belongs to the Trachinina. 

 Aphritis gobio. 

 B. 6. D. 7/22. A. 22. C. 18. P. 16. V. 1/5. L. lat. 65-70. 



The maxillary bone extends beyond the vertical from the centre 

 of the eye. 



Port Famine. 



This species is allied to Aphritis Durvillii, described by Cuvier 

 from an apparently small specimen from the fresh waters of Van 

 Diemen's Land. This, however, is said to have the cleft of the 

 mouth rather narrow, whilst in our species it is wide; both 

 differ, besides, in the number of the fin-rays. 



The general aspect of the fish is cottoid ; the head, however, is 

 considerably more elevated, its depth below the interorbital por- 

 tion being one-half of its length, which is contained three times 

 and a half in the total. The snout is of moderate extent, twice 

 as long as the eye, with the cleft of the mouth oblique, and with 

 the lower jaw somewhat prominent. Jaws, vomer, and palatine 

 bones armed with broad bands of villiform teeth. The interorbital 

 space is very concave, its width being much less than that of the 

 orbit, which is one-eighth of the length of the head, and nearly 

 one-third of the depth of the head below the orbit. The oper- 

 culum terminates in an obtuse, stiff spine. The distance of the 

 anterior dorsal from the occiput is the same as that of the pos- 

 terior from the caudal fin ; both are of moderate and nearly equal 

 height. Caudal rounded. The anal commences and terminates 

 behind the opposite fin. Pectoral rounded, extending to the 

 vertical from the third dorsal ray. Ventrals jugular, nearly as 

 long as the pectoral. 



The head is entirely scaly, except on the mandibula; there 

 are even some scales on the maxillary. The scales are rather 

 irregularly arranged, cycloid, and those above the lateral line 

 have smaller scales on their base. 



The colour now is uniform brown. 



