332 NEW- YORK FAUNA. 



trunk. Eyes rather large and convex. Nostrils double, just in front of the eyes. Mouth 

 small. Jaws armed willi a broad and bony plate, sharp at the edge. Dorsal outline arched 

 from a point opposite the anterior angle of the orbits, to a line above the base of the pectorals ; 

 thence straight to the dorsal fin. The sides of the head project out from the body quite pro- 

 minently over the eyes, to the branchial aperture. Opercle directly in front of the pectorals, 

 three inches in its greatest diameter. Largest diameter of the eyes 2" 5; smaller diameter, 

 2'0. Snout flattened above, obtuse, and projecting about an inch in front of the upper jaw. 

 Length of the head from the tip of the snout to the base of the pectoral fin, seventeen inches. 

 Vent corrugated, two inches in front of the anal fin ; a very obvious carina commences in 

 front of the vent, and is continued until opposite the origin of the pectorals. 



Dorsal and anal fins triangular, placed at the upper and lower posterior extremity of the 

 fish, and six feet and a half from tip to tip. Length of the dorsal, 13-0; height, 21"0. 

 Length of the anal, 12' 0; height of the same fin, 21-0. The caudal fin borders the extre- 

 mity of the body, and is connected botli with the dorsal and anal fins ; divided into eight digi- 

 tations, of which the upper are smaller, and the sixth the largest. All the fins are of a very 

 dense texture. 



Color. Back dark grey ; abdomen white ; the sides of a soiled white, with silvery reflec- 

 tions. Pupils black ; irides dark brown, encircled within by a silvery ring. Abroad, nearly 

 black band commences at the origin of the dorsal fin, and running along its base, is continued 

 in front of the caudal and anal fins to the vent. This band is lighter colored along the base of 

 the anal, and here also it is as narrow as at the dorsal. Along the base of the caudal it is 

 much deeper, even equal to the least height of that fin. Edge of the caudal fin flesh-colored. 



Length, 54-0. Depth, .30-0. Weight, 200 pounds. 

 Fin rays, D. 13 ; P. 13 ; A. 15 ; C. 9. 



The description by Dr. Storer, from a recent specimen, is the only detailed account which 

 we have had of this species on this side of the Atlantic. I have therefore rather preferred to 

 adopt his description, than to present my own, which was drawn up from a cabinet specimen. 

 It appears from the figure given by Dr. Storer, which we have adopted, that the snout is 

 more prominent than in any of the figures which wc have examined. The slight inaccuracy 

 in the original drawing, which represents the dorsal and anal as distinct from the caudal, is 

 corrected in the text. From a comparison of the various figures and descriptions by European 

 writers of this rare fish, I am inclined to believe that they all relate to the same species. An 

 originally bad figure has been successively copied, with fancied emendations, which has fur- 

 nished materials for new errors. The greatest discrepancies are observed in the radial for- 

 mula ; but when we recollect that the membrane is exceedingly dense, we may make rea- 

 sonable allowances for the difl"erence in the various enumerations of the fin rays. It is proba- 

 ble that the figure given by Dr. Storer is the first accurate representation ever published. 



The Great Sun-fish, or Head-fish, is not unfrequently ca])tured along the coast. The spe- 

 cimen mentioned by Dr. Mitchill, was captured in the lower bay within Sandy Hook. It 



