196 Dr. A. Giinther on a new Generic Type of Fishes. 



African genus Heterotis. These materials alone appeared al- 

 most sufficient to assign to the new fish its systematic posi- 

 tion in the neighbourhood of Chirocentrus or Heterotis, when, 

 to ray great satisfaction, a second specimen was found in the 

 collection of the British Museum. It had been sent by the 

 unfortunate Mr. Gilbert as a specimen collected by Leichardt ; 

 and it may have been obtained at the same place and time as 

 that in the Sydney Museum ; it is also stufi*ed, but considerably 

 larger, having a length of 28 mches. 



Sir Daniel Cooper informs me that it is probably the same 

 fish which has been caught by Mr. E. F. Hill in a creek at a 

 station called Princhester, 90 miles from Rockhampton : if this 

 be really the case, he hopes to obtain specimens in spirit from 

 this place, by which we may be enabled to settle some interesting 

 points regarding its anatomy, especially the question whether, 

 like Heterotis, it is provided with a superbranchial organ. 



I proceed to give the description *. 



SCLEROPAOES. 



Body oblong, compressed, covered with large scales; belly 

 longitudinally keeled ; head compressed, infraorbital bones mucn 

 enlarged, covering the cheek entirely ; cleft of the mouth very 

 wide, with the lower jaw prominent ; coarse cardiform teeth in 

 both jaws and on the palate. Dorsal fin of moderate length, 

 opposite the hind part of the anal, which is elongate ; pectorals 

 well developed ; ventrals small. 



Scleropages Leichardti. Plate VII. 



D.20. A. 31. P. 9. V. 5. L. lat. 35. L. transv. 3/4. 



The height of the body is rather more than the length of the 

 head, which is contained thrice and three-quarters in the total 

 (without caudal) ; the upper profile, from the dorsal fin to the 

 snout, is nearly straight, whilst the lower is curved upwards from 

 the subthoracic region. The cleft of the mouth is oblique, very 

 wide, extending to behind the eye ; the mandible is strong, long, 

 nearly two-thirds of the length of the head ; it projects beyond 

 the upper jaw, and is furnished with a pair of very small barbels 

 near the symphysis ; the intermaxillary is short, and situated at 

 the extremity of the upper jaw, whilst the maxillary forms the 

 side. Both jaws are armed with a series of small, closely-set, 

 conical teeth, equal in size : a band of coarse cardiform teeth 

 runs round the palate ; but whether these teeth really belong to 



* Whilst this paper was passing through the press, I have found that 

 the genus Scleropages is closely alhed to, or identical with, Osteoglossum. 

 Cf . O. formosum, Schleg., from Borneo. 



