174 The Philippine Journal of Science 1923 



and along dorsal line these specks coalesce or are so close to- 

 gether that the animal is nearly uniform dusky olive, becoming 

 paler below the lateral line and light colored along underside; 

 fins grayish, dorsal and anal edged with black, pectorals pos- 

 teriorly dusky. 



Here described from a female specimen nearly ready to spawn, 

 collected at Jordan, Guimaras, in June, 1922, by Mr. H. R. Mon- 

 talban. Its dimensions are as follows : Length, 409 millimeters ; 

 head, 43; trunk, 113; tail, 253; eye, 4.5. 



This rare species was described by Cantor from specimens 

 obtained at Pinang and has not been recorded by any other 

 authors except Jordan and Richardson, who determined as 

 Ophichthus grandoculis a specimen obtained by Mr. R. C. McGre- 

 gor in Manila. 

 Ophichthus apicalis (Bennett). 



Ophisurus apicalis Bennett, Cat. Zool. Spec, in Memoir, Life of 



Raffles (1830) 692. 

 Ophichthys bangko Bleeker, Atlas Ichth. Mursen. 4 (1864) 51, pi. 14, 



fig. 1. 

 Ophichthys diepenh&rsti Bleeker, Atlas Ichth. Muraen. 4 (1864) 52, 



pi. 15, fig. 4. 

 Ophichthys apicalis Gunther, Cat. Fishes Brit. Mus. 8 (1870) 70; 



Weber and Beaufort, Fishes Indo-Austr. Arch. 3 (1916) 305, fig. 



145. 

 Depth 27 to 36.6 and head 8.5 to 10.4 in total length; head 

 2.4 to 2.7 in trunk; head and trunk together 1.4 to 1.71 in tail; 

 eye 8| to 12 f in head, H to 2| in the projecting, bluntly pointed 

 snout; mouth extending from just behind eye to a trifle more 

 than diameter of eye behind it and contained from 3.3 to 3.6 

 in head; pectorals 2.55 to 3£ in head; dorsal low, its origin 

 approximately above the middle or last part of pectorals in my 

 specimens, but according to authors "commencing somewhat 

 before or behind end of pectorals;" dorsal and anal fins expanded 

 or higher near tip of tail; teeth pointed, conical, those of jaws 

 in one row ("they may form anteriorly or near the middle an 

 irregular double series," Weber and Beaufort) ; in two of my 

 specimens the anterior teeth of mandible are in two rows; on the 

 forward half of vomer the teeth are stouter and two rowed, 

 usually irregularly arranged ; posterior half with one row ; No. 

 1449, Bureau of Science collection, has the vomerine teeth in 

 three rows, becoming reduced to two rows posteriorly and the 

 last few teeth uniserial; teeth on intermaxillary plate variable, 

 four to six in my specimens, arranged irregularly or in pairs; 

 lateral line prominent, the wide-spaced pores as in Bleeker's 



