312 



Records (jI' the S.A. Museum 



wider than deep in the male and more than twice as wide as deep in the female : 

 dorsal surface slightly convex. Upper and lower body ridges continuous: the 

 lateral ridge extends on to the anterior caudal scute and, in the female, is produced 

 to form a sharp edge to the greatly expanded body. Tail about half of the total 

 length in the female, longer in the male. Vent situated tuider the posterior half 

 of the dorsal fin. Several females dredged in Spencer and St. \'incent Gulfs by 

 Sir Joseph Verco and two males collected by Air. I'. Geisler from St. \'incent 

 Gulf: longest example io8 mm. 



Colours. Snout dusky. Body light green, with a great number of tiny 

 black dots, massed on the underside to form a dark bar on each scute. 



Hab. New South Wales, \'ictoria. Tasmania. South Australia. 



SOLEGNATHUS Swainson, 1839 (hardwickii). 



SOLEGNATHUS ROBUSTUS McCulloch. 



Solenoynatlms spinosissiinns Zietz. T.R.S., S.A., xxxii, 1908, p. 299 (not of 



Gunth.). 

 Solcc/nathiis robnstns McCulI.. Endeavour Res., i. 191 1. p. 28. pi. ix, fig. 2. 



Fig. 50. 



D. 29-31 (34): P. 24-25: .\.3: AnnuH 27 (26)4-48-53; sub-dursal annuh 04-10. 



Head 2 -7 in the trunk and 6 -4 in the total length : snout I -g in the head, its 

 depth equal to one-fifth of its length ; eye 3 '9 in the snout and / '4 in the head ; 

 narrowest interorbital space less than half the diameter of the eye. Body very 

 deep, I 7 times deeper than wide. Tail aljout 2 4 in the total length, its depth 

 behind the dorsal fin 2 75-3 'O in the base of that fin. The last 26-30 tail rings 

 constitute the prehensile portion. 



Fig. 50. Soh-f,'iuitluis''iohii>ifii 



McCulloch says that the dorsal fin occupies 10 "i)ody rings", caudal rings 

 being meant: he also gives the lengtli of the head as "37 in the trunk". Init his 

 drawing shows 2 7 to be intended. The term "broad" used in connection with 

 the character of the snout should probably be read as "deep."' 



The length of the tail is suliject to slight variation: in two of our examples 

 it is less than the distance between the \ent and the pectoral fin, in a third it is 



