Mr. A. Alcock on Indian Batluihial Fishes. ;3i9 



paiticulais : — (1) the preoperculum is armed at its angle witli 

 three weak spines; (2) the length of the snout is barely 

 twice the diameter of the eye, wliich is nearly one sixth the 

 length of the head ; (3) the length of the maxilla is not quite 

 half that of the head ; (4) the length of the trunk is hardly 

 equal to that of the postrostral portion of the head ; (5) the 

 pectorals are large and long, reaching as far as the anal fin, 

 but with regard to this difference it is as well to remark that 

 the ])CCtorals in our specimens of L. niger are much broken. 



There is a small thick-walled air-bladder. 



Colour jet-black. 



A single male specimen, 19 inches long, from Station 133, 

 678 fathoms. 



It is j)Ossible that this species may be the male of Lampro- 

 grammiis niyer, of which three female specimens were obtained 

 last year ; and though it would be premature to decide that 

 this is the case, yet the belief of its probability must be here 

 recorded. 



Hephthocaka, gen. nov. 



Head large, with thin, smooth, uncrested bones, scaleless. 

 No armature but a weak opercular spine. Body compressed, 

 tapering, covered with deciduous cycloid scales. Eye mode- 

 rate. JSnout not overhanging the jaws. Mouth with 

 obliquely ascending cleft, and with the lower jaw prominent. 

 Villiform teeth in the jaws, palatines, and vomer. No barbel 

 or hyoid filaments. Gill-openings wide; gill-membranes 

 separate; four gills, no pseudobranehiai ; eight branchio- 

 stegals. Lateral line indistinguishable. Vertical fins con- 

 fluent : pectoral fins entire ; no ventral fins. 



5. Hephthocara simum, sp. n. (PI. XVIII. fig. 1.) 



Head of great relative size, deep, broad, and much inflated 

 posteriorly, falling steeply in front to the small abruptly 

 narrowed and depressed up-tilted snout; its length is about 

 two ninths of the total without the caudal, and its greatest 

 height posteriorly is a little over three quarters, and its 

 greatest breadth a little over half, its length. The cranial 

 bones are wafer-like and quite smooth, the only armature of 

 the head being a flat spine at the upper part of the oper- 

 culum. 



The small snub snout, the end of which is formed by the 

 projecting mandible, exceeds in length the width of the inter- 

 ocular space, this being about twice the major diameter of the 



