97 



operculum. Length of the single specimen known, a male with 

 an egg-pouch, 29 mm. 



Habitat: Island Gisser, West of Ceram, on reef!. 



1 6. Stigmatophora Kaup. 



(KAUP, Cat. Lophobr. Fish, 1856, p. 52 i). 



Body subcylindrical, scarcely broader than deep or strongly 

 depressed and very broad ; the lateral shields being very 

 oblique and produced into sharp edges, which form the median 

 cristae of the trunk and border the flat abdominal surface; 

 otherwise the edges are obsolete. Superior and inferior cristae 

 of trunk united with the corresponding cristae of the tail. 

 Tail long, without caudal, ending filiform but not prehensile. 

 A praenuchal and two nuchal shields present. Head not elevated, 

 produced into a long snout of nearly equal height as head, 

 more or less than twice the length of the remaining part of 

 the head. Eyes large. Operculum without a longitudinal keel 

 or with a basal or a complete one. Dorsal long or very long, 

 its middle above or somewhat before or behind anus. Anal 

 small; pectorals well developed. Eggs large, isolated in cuta- 

 neous cells on the lower surface of the tail, enclosed in a 

 completely closed brood-pouch formed by a pair of lateral cuta- 

 neous folds beginning behind vent. The sexes may be strongly 

 dimorphic. 



Distribution: New Guinea, Australia, Tasmania, New 

 Zealand. 



i. Stigmatophora argus (Rich.). 



Syngnathus argus Richardson, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1840, p. 29. Trans. 



Zool. Soc. London III. prt. 2, 1849, p. 183. 



Solegnathus argus Bleeker, Verhand. Akad. Amsterdam II. 1855, p. 17 (name only). 

 Stigmatophora Argus Kaup, Cat. Lophobr. Fish, 1856, p. 53. 

 Stigmatophora argus Dumeril, Hist. nat. Poissons II. 1870, p. 583. 

 Stigmatophora argus Giinther, Cat. Brit. Mus. VIII. 1870, p. 189. 

 Gastrotokeus gracilis Klunzinger, Arch. f. Naturgesch. XXXVIII. I. 1872, p. 44. 

 Stigmatophora argus de Castelnau, Proc. Zool. Soc. Victoria, 1872, p. 243; 



i873, P- 77- 



Stigmatophora olivacea de Castelnau, I.e. 1872, p. 244; 1873, P- 77 2 )- 

 Stigmatophora unicolor de Castelnau, Research, on the fishes of Australia 1875, p. 49. 



1) It is certainly a misprint when KAUP (Arch. f. Naturgesch. XIX. I. 1853, 

 p. 233) calls this genus Stigmatopora. 



2) This species, which DUNCKER (1915) unites with St. argus (Rich.), is ac- 

 cording to OGILBY (Mem. Queensl. Mus. I. 1912, p. 36) "certainly valid". 

 INDOAUSTRALIAN FISHES IV. 7 



