\ 



Mr. Pcck'^s account of four remarlahle Fijhes. 49 



opening of the gills is equal to ith of the length of the fifli. 

 The mouth obliquely defcending, backward, and of a mid- 

 dling Hze. The ^roftrum obtufe/ The upper jaw a little 

 fliorter than the lower. The teeth very fmall, cyhndric, 

 {Irait, erecfl, equal, and clofely fet, in a fmgle row, in the mar- 

 gin of both mandibles. The tongue entire and rounded. 

 The palate deflitute of teeth. The noftrils double ; nearer to 

 the roftrum than to the eyes ; the anterior foramen fmall and 

 round, the poflerior larger and vertically oblong. The eyes 

 are lateral, nearly in the middle of the head, almofl round, 

 naked ; the iris filvery with the upper part blueifli ; the 

 pupil rather large and black. The covers of the gills, are 

 formed of two laminas, the exterior of which is fmaller, 

 femiovate, marked with obfcure furrows difpofed in a radi- 

 ate form, and of a filver colour : the interior is larger, and 

 contained within the fegment of a circle, whofe centre is near 

 the pupil of the eye. There are no fcales on thefe covers. 



■ 



The branchial membrane is in a great meafure covered ; it 

 contains fix oflicles, the firfl and fecond much the fliorteft, 

 and all of them much curved. The head and anterior part of 

 the back as far as the beginning of the dorfal fin are without 



fcales. 



The back is arched, and becoming gradually thinner from 

 the middle of the filli upward, and towards the root of the 

 fin is marked on each fide with a dotted Hne, compofed of 

 about twenty pores, placed in a fmgle row, beginning even 

 with the fin, and extending parallel to it, a little more than 

 half its length. 



H 



The 



Mo. Bot. Garden, 



1897. 



