200 Mr. A. Alcock on the Bathyhial Fishes 



about 2iV, in the total, without caudal. Head inclined to 

 depression in its anterior half, deep, broad, and inflated in 

 its branchial region, with the operculum prolonged ; scaly, 

 except on the snout and upper jaw. Snout depressed, rounded ; 

 its tip formed by a prominent median knob on the projecting 

 lower jaw ; its extreme length (including the mandibular 

 element) is equal to the major diameter of the eye and is less 

 than its breadth. Eyes in their long diameter 4§ in the head- 

 length ; the upper border of the orbit enters the dorsal profile ; 

 the breadth of the interorbital space is one third the length of 

 the eye. Nostrils superior. Mouth wide, oblique ; jaws 

 strong, the maxilla reaches the vertical through the posterior 

 border of the orbit, the mandible closes outside the maxilla ; 

 teeth in villiform bands in the premaxilla and palatines and 

 in a small patch on the vomer ; small canines in the man- 

 dible and at the maxillary symphysis ; tongue long and 

 spathulate. 



Gill-opening very wide ; operculum with two flat spines ; 

 preopercular border rounded and serrated throughout ; sub- 

 and interoperculum large ; pseudobranchise coarse ; gill-rakers 

 tuberculate. Scales, except on the lateral line and in the row 

 flanking the dorsal fin, large, finely ctenoid, except on the 

 operculum ; eight series on the cheek. Lateral line salient, 

 with very small scales. One dorsal, with its spinous and soft 

 portions of equal extent, the fourth and fifth spines the 

 greatest and one fourth longer than the eye ; the rays slightly 

 increasing in length to the ninth, which is less than two thirds 

 of the maximum body-height and shorter than the corre- 

 sponding anal ray. Caudal emarginate, with the upper lobe the 

 longer, its basal half scaly ; its length is about equal to that 

 of the pectoral, which is rather longer than the postorbital 

 portion of the head. Ventrals subjugular, the second ray 

 almost as long as tlie pectoral fin. Pyloric caeca few. Air- 

 bladder small. 



Colours in life : — Head and body bright pink, belly and 

 throat white ; a broad bright yellow band passes from the tip 

 of the snout through the eye to the caudal fin ; indefinite 

 bright yellow markings on the cheeks, opercles, and fins. 

 In spirit, faded yellow, with four incomplete cross bands of 

 grey. 



Total length 5\ inches. 



Hah, Vide Station 96. Two specimens. 



