52 Records of the S.A. Museum 



HELCOGRAMMA DECURRENS sp. nov. 



I'latc iii, fig. J. 



Br.vi: D.iii; xiii; 11: A.22: P.9 + 7: V.2: C.13: L.lat. 19+19. 



Depth 4-5 in tlic li-iigth to the hypural ; head 3 '2 in the same: eye not quite 

 .so long a.s its distance from the end of the snout. 3 '3 in the head: interorbital 

 space 3-5 in the eye: first dorsal spine highest, i -g in the head; fourth sjjine of 

 second dorsal 2-2, median pectoral rays i -i in the head. 



Head large, naked, -with doul)le rows of pores beneath the eye. around the 

 preoperculum and on the mandible: anterior nostril with a tentacle, tlie ijosterior 

 a simple opening close to the upper orbital border : a small ocular tentacle : lips 

 large and thick, projecting anteriorly: maxilla reaching to lielow the middle of 

 tlie eye; mandible a little shorter tiian the upjier jaw: a broad band of villiforni 

 teeth in each jaw whicli becomes very narrow posteriorly, the outer ones some- 

 what enlarged ; a large patch covers the \omer, and smaller patches are present on 

 tile anterior part of each palatine : opercular lobe pointed, incised above. 



An upraised nuchal ridge extends downward and backward on each side 

 before the dorsal : scales ctenoid, commencing at the shoulder and increasing 

 slightly in size backward : breast and abdomen naked to behind the origin of the 

 anal : latei'al line running downward from the shoulder to tlie middle of the body, 

 and formed of nineteen simple tubes on enlarged scales, which terminate below 

 the end of the second tlorsal ; no secondary series of incised scales : the scales 

 above the lateral line are rather irregular, and an extra row is intercalated be- 

 tween each of the lateral line series so that .there are about 38 or 60 rows along 

 the body, according to the direction in which they are counted. 



Fivs. First dorsal spine inserted just behind the vertical of the preoper- 

 culum ; it is much higher than the following, which decrease backward ; mem- 

 brane of the third spine just touching the base of the anterior spine of the second 

 dorsal : margin of the second dorsal slightly arched, the fourth spine longest but 

 shorter than the anterior spine; membrane of the last spine not reaching the 

 anterior ray: soft dorsal damaged, apparently formed of simple rays: anal rays 

 simple, cur\ed, and increasing slightly in length liackward ; the last is well behind 

 the termination of the dorsal : pectoral pointed, reaching to below the posterior 

 third of the second dorsal ; the lower rays are thickened and simple with their 

 membrane incised, the upper rays bifurcate; ventral rays inserted slightly in 

 advance of the vertical of the anterior dorsal spine, free for more than half their 

 length, the inner the longer : caudal subtruncate. 



Coloiir-inarkiiKjs. lirown in alcohol, with the lower hiilf of the iicad and 

 the pectoral base Ijlackish. .Some symmetrical light spots are present on the 

 sides, and the lower part of the trunk is black speckled : dorsal fins witii dark 



