The Zoologist — November, 1866. 503 



any part of it. The operculum lay close, but was detached 

 throughout. The preoperculum and the operculiun both ended a little 

 above the level of the upper orbit of the eye. The pectoral fin had its 

 origin immediately behind the upper part of the operculum, and con- 

 sisted of fourteen fin-rays, of which all except the first were bifid. The 

 first was a short spinous ray lying close to the others, and two and a 

 quarter inches long. The second had for the termination of its first 

 fork a detached spinous termination at a distance of seven inches from 

 its base, and for the termination of its second a similar spine eight 

 inches from the base, both closely tied down to the fin. The fifth fin- 

 ray of this fin was the longest, and reached the length of ten and a half 

 inches from the base. 



Immediately above the termination of this fin, laid flat, there was 

 upon the back a small fine spine, just over one inch in length and 

 apparently free. I did not observe it before the fish was skinned, and 

 1 could afterwards find about it no trace that ever any part of a fin 

 had been connected with it. I believe it to have been a free spine. 



One inch behind this spine the dorsal fin had its origin. The first 

 ray was a stout soft ray of upwards of six inches (I believe, from what 

 I heard, it must have been originally nine inches, but it was broken 

 when I first saw the fish) in length, and to which the fin was attached 

 nearly half way up (assuming the length to have been nine inches). 

 Next came two short spinous rays of about one and a half inch long, 

 and then eleven soft rays longer than the spinous rays, and of which the 

 ninth or tenth ray (these were damaged) was the longest, appearing to 

 have been about two inches long. The fin terminated with the termi- 

 nation of the curve which preceded the straight base of the caudal. 



The base of the caudal was broader than it was deep (see measure- 

 ments above) ; and on each side of it was a very conspicuous fleshy 

 horizontal carination, about three inches long and extending outwards 

 about an inch ; lozenge-shaped in every way. 



The tail in shape resembled the tail of the tunny, and (omitting of 

 course all count of obsolete rays) consisted of sixteen fin-rays. It was 

 stout, and by far the most powerful fin which the fish possessed. 



Taking now the under part of the fish, the vent was situated just 

 under the origin of the pectorals, and was protected (as I found when 

 the fish was laid out for stuflfing) by a short stout spine about half an 

 inch long. From observations made on the fish before I saw it, by 

 your contributor Mr. E. H. Rodd, I have reason to believe that the 

 vent was properly marked by two fleshy appendages, but unfortunately 



