428 THE CEUISE OF TEE ' GURAQOA: 



PLATE XXXIII. Fig. A. 



OPHICHTHYS FILAEIA. 



Allied to 0. longipinnis and 0. hlrkii, but distinguished from 

 both by the considerably greater slenderness of the body, the 

 depth of which is two-ninths of the length of the head, whilst it is 

 rather more than one-third in those two species. 



The lensth of the head is one-tenth of the distance between the 

 gill-opening and vent ; tail almost as long as the body ; cleft of 

 the mouth of moderate width, extending to some distance behind 

 the eye, which is small and somewhat nearer to the corner of the 

 mouth than to the end of the snout ; snout pointed, more than 

 twice as long as the eye, projecting beyond the mouth ; anterior 

 nostril with a small tube, posterior on the inner side of the lip, 

 below the front margin of the eye ; teeth pointed, uniserial ; gill- 

 openings lateral ; pectoral fin reduced to a minute filament ; the 

 dorsal and anal are about half as high as the body, the former 

 commencing midway between the gill-opening and the eye. Colo- 

 ration imiform. 



Misol Island. 



Length 24 inches, the tail being Hi inches long; depth of the 

 l>ody 3 lines. 



