74 THE PLAGIOSTOMIA. 



Snout short, longer than the mouth, broadl}' rounded at the end. Nostrils 

 nearer to the mouth than to the end of the snout. Anterior nasal valves broad, 

 reaching the mouth, narrowly separated from one another at their median 

 attachment; posterior \'alves narrow, cirroid. X labial fold on the lower jaw, 

 extending half way to the symphysis. Upper lip closing outside of the lower 

 at the angles. Eye medium; lower lid closing inside the upper. Teeth very 

 small, with three to five cusps, median longest; six rows at the symphysis of 

 the lower jaws of much smaller teeth. Spiracle small, close to the angle of the 

 eye. Gill openings moderate, anterior widest, hindmost smaller and above the 

 pectoral. Dorsal fins small, first larger and originating a short distance behind 

 the ends of the bases of the ventrals; origin of the second dorsal at the end of 

 the base of the anal. Anal base twice the length of the base of the first dorsal, 

 longer than its own distance from the caudal. Subcaudal short, its basal length 

 nearly one and one half times that of the anal. 



Back and fins with diffused or indefinite spots and blotches of brown vary- 

 ing greatly in depth of color, especially toward the back, where they are darker 

 more or less fused and intermixed with others of white. 



Description from a female of 17 inches, from the Adriatic, and from a 

 fully mature male of 13^ inches, from Nice. 



Distinguished from Catulus caniculus by the positions of the dorsals and l)y 

 the markings, and from C. stellaris by the positions of the dorsals, the markings, 

 and a narrower separation of the nasal valves on the internarial space at the 

 mouth. It is the smaller southern race of C. caniculus. 



Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic coasts of Europe. 



Catulus capensis. 



ScyUium capense A. Smith, 1837, Proc. Zool. soc. Lond., p. 85; Mulleh & Henle, 1841, Plagios., p. 11; 

 DuMBRiL, 1865, Elasm., p. 320; Gunth., 1870, Cat. fishes Brit, mus., 8, p. 404; Regan, 1908, 

 Ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 8, 1, p. 458. 



Snout short, blunt. Anterior nasal valve reaching the mouth, broad, with 

 a moderate attachment or median separation in front of the symphyses; a 

 rudimentary cirrus. Labial fold short, on the lower jaw. Teeth small with one 

 to two lateral denticles more or less distinct. Hindmost gill opening above the 

 pectoral. First dorsal above the space between the ventrals and the anal, 

 nearer to the former. Origin of second dorsal a little forward of the hind end 

 of the base of the anal, fin smaller than that of the first dorsal. Base of the 

 anal nearly twice as long as that of the second dorsal, length less than the 

 distance from the caudal. Scales small, tricuspid. 



