Zoological Society. 53 



10. Ph^nodon RiNGENS. (Scopelus barbatus, nob. MS. olim.) 



1«»D. 16; 2'»»D.0; A. 16; V. 7; P. 9; C. ^ + ^- + ^^ M.B,? 



6 + I.+VIII. 



Closely allied to Scopelus, but with the head and teeth of Echio- 

 stoma, which it also resembles in its single cartilaginous beard or 

 barbule. 



A single example occurred in May 1845, and was placed by me in 

 the collection of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, under the MS. 

 name of Scopelus barbatus. It was seven inches long, and the above 

 fin-formula is taken from it. 



1 have been favoured by the Due de Leuchtenberg this winter with 

 the opportunity of examining a second individual, procured from a 

 fisherman. It agreed in all important details with the former, but 

 was only from five to six inches long, and had a much shorter barbule. 



Both these examples were entirely devoid of scales, but from cer- 

 tain appearances I am inclined to attribute this defect to injury. 



The colour is a uniform brownish or coal-black, except the silver 

 pits, which are disposed in rows along the throat and belly, exactly 

 as in Scopelus. 



11. Scopelus maderensis (Suppl. in Trans. Zool. Soc. iii. part 1. 

 p. 14). 



Appears to be distinguished from Sc. Humboldti by the forwarder 

 (medio-dorsal) position of its first dorsal fin, and by the long pec- 

 toral fins, which are contained from four to four and a half times in 

 the whole length, and reach to the end of the base of the first dorsal 

 fin. The anal fin has fourteen rays. 



Examples have occurred of two other forms or species, with shorter 

 pectoral fins, in one of which the anal fin has fourteen, and in the 

 other twenty-two rays. In the first of these, the length of the pec- 

 toral fin is one-sixth of the whole length of the fish ( P="7f I ; in the 



second it is one-fifth and four-sevenths of the same ( V=-Tr I; i. e. 



(-^) 



rather longer. But further investigations will be requisite before 

 these can be safely proposed as species. In general habit, colour, 

 and appearance, they agree with S. maderensis. 



12. Metopias typhlops (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1843, vol. xi. p. 90). 



Another example has occurred of this most curious and anomalous 

 httle fish. It was brought to me in May 1849, from the same place, 

 Magdalena, at which I obtained the former. It is of much larger 

 size, measuring three inches and a half in length. I find nothing 

 whatever to correct in the account above referred to, except that the 

 maxillary teeth, instead of being " uniseriate," are in a scobinate or 

 brush-like band in both jaws ; narrow in the upper, broader in the 

 lower jaw. 



The acquisition of a second example, confirming the peculiar cha- 

 racters before set down, is the more satisfactory, from the former 



