86 bulletin: museum of comparative zoology. 



of snout and separated from the other teeth by an interspace. Vomer- 

 ine teeth in a single series of twenty with the two anterior teeth rather 

 small, those on the shaft large anteriorly but graduating posteriorly 

 to very small teeth. Mandibular series uniserial except at tip, there 

 being about twenty-one curved conical pointed teeth, moderately di- 

 rected back in the jaw, besides two to three small curved teeth in 

 the front. 



Snout pointed; length 5.5 in head. Anterior nostril with a short 

 wide tube just above tip of lower jaw; posterior nostril with a large 

 fringed slit opening on upper lip; it also has an external opening in a 

 small tube just posterior to the anterior nostril. 



The center of eye is considerably nearer the angle of jaws than to 

 tip of snout, length of eye 2.3 in snout. The pectoral, dorsal, and 

 anal fins are distinctly developed, but the tip of the tail is bare. The 

 pectorals are located at upper posterior margin of gill-openings, their 

 length 4.7 in head; origin of the dorsal is posterior to the tip of pec- 

 torals by a distance equal to the eye; dorsal and anal very low, but 

 wider near tip of tail where their terminal angle begins; they extend 

 almost to tip of tail, the bare portion being but little longer than eye. 



Color in alcohol: — drab, yellowish on belly and throat. The back 

 and down to the lateral line has patches or mottlings of darker brown 

 M^hich are very irregular. The head has the mucous pores ending 

 in black dots, four on the upper jaw, two behind the eye, and a row 

 of four from above the eye to tip of snout; also a row of eight on 

 under jaw extending posteriorly to gape. 



Length 725 m. 



Type.— M. C. Z. 25,957. (^hina. J. 1). Dana. 



Ophichthys exilis, sp. nov. 



Body elongate, cylindrical, almost round in cross section; head 

 conically pointed; upper jaw somewhat projecting. The tail is evenly 

 compressed from the anal pore to the acute tip, which is bare; depth 

 at anal pore 2.4 in head, the length of the tail a little more than twice 

 the length of the trunk, without the head. 



Head moderately compressed, its greatest width 1.5 in its greatest 

 depth; its length 2.3 in trunk, and 8 in total length. Mouth of 

 moderate size, the angle of jaws from tip of snout 2.5 in head; under 

 jaw straight the mouth closing fully. 



