218 WAITE 
5.1 in the head: depth of head 1.4 in its length, the large eye 
almost cuts the profile: the mouth resembles that of a bull dog, 
the lower jaw protruding and fitting into a notch in the upper 
one, the anterior teeth remaining without when the mouth is 
closed: the preopercle is unarmed, and the maxilla extends to 
below the middle of the eve: the gill-rakers are long and slender 
and finely spinous, they are forty-nine in number on the first 
arch, thirty-two being on the lower limb. 
Teeth_—The teeth in the jaws are in single series, but there 
is a patch in front of the lower jaw, the anterior teeth of which 
are strongly curved: there are no teeth on the vomer, 
palatines or tongue. 
Fins.—The dorsal commences above the edge of the opercle, 
its rays are articulated and branched: the anal arises less than 
the length of the head behind the opercle; the pectoral is 
rounded, its eighth ray being half the length of the head: the 
ventrals are longer, twice the diameter of the eye: the caudal 
rays are absent, their roots only remaining. 
Scales.—The scales, left on portions of the body, are extremely 
small. 
Colours.—No colour remains after the partial digestion of the 
fish, but there is a conspicuous black spot on the membrane 
between the maxilla and premaxilla: no mark traceable on the 
dorsal fin. 
Length (to base of caudal rays).—353 mm. 
The specimen described was obtained from the gullet of a 
Zeus trawled at Station 89. Two smaller ones, measuring 74 
and 47 mm. in length respectively were taken from the stomach 
of Pagrosomus at Station 95, all occurrences being in the Bay of 
Plenty. 
This species is a true Cepola, as restricted by Bleeker, and 
may prove to be not distinct from the European form C. taenia, 
the fin rays and the presence of the maxillary spot being 
identical, features also possessed by the Japanese C. schlegeli 
Bleeker. Pending absolute comparison it has been given a 
distinctive name. The Australian (C. australis Ogilby differs 
from all by having a much smaller number of rays in the dorsal 
and anal, and also by the absence of the black spot noticed in 
the other forms. 
As to the systematic position of the Cepolidw, Boulenger*+ 
writes: ‘‘ Although these fishes have hitherto been placed near the 
Blennidae, the Gobudae, or the Trachypteridae, they are nothing 
(31) Boulenger, Camb. Nat. Hist. vii. 1904, p. 662. 
