1906.] THE SKULL OF A YOUNG RIBBON-FISH. 545 



Parker (3) dealt so fully with the various accounts of the 

 specimens captured on the coasts of JSTew Zealand and Australia, 

 that it is needless for me to repeat the record. But since he 

 wrote his second article in 1888, additional specimens have been 

 recorded and described by Forbes (5), by Drew (7), and by 

 Clarke (8), the last being a quite perfect individual, with the 

 pectoral fins still uninjured, and the article is illustrated by a 

 good figure of the entire fish. 



Finally, a couple of years ago, a large specimen was reported to 

 me as having been thrown on shore near the entrance to the Otago 

 Harbour, but while my informant was engaged in telephoning to 

 the Museum, to arrange for its despatch to me, the usual fate, in 

 the form of boys and stones and sticks, awaited the rarity : so 

 that by the time my informant returned to the shore the fish 

 was so damaged as to be valueless. 



We thus have records of more than a dozen of these rare fishes 

 having been obtained in these seas within the last 50 years ; and 

 the majority on the coast of the South Island. Of these all but 

 one have been apparently nearly or qviite full-grown, reaching a 

 length of from 12 to 18 feet, Drew's specimen being only 7 feet 

 4^ inches. Judging, however, from his other measurements, it 

 appears probable that a part of the posterior end was missing : he 

 says, " the fish ended abruptly with thick rounded end, and there 

 were no spines at the caudal end." He does not state the height 

 of this truncated extremity, and we are left in doubt as to how 

 much is missing. 



It is, howevei', to the markings on ^^ R. parkeri" that I would 

 draw attention. It will be remembered that one of the most 

 striking difierences in the external features of this specimen— apart 

 from body- proportions — lies in its colour-markings. 



Parker, "Von Haast, Clarke, and others have described 

 (and figured) the peculiar, irregularly vertical streaks of black or 

 very dark-blue, irregu.lar in form, size, and arrangement, but 

 limited to the anterior region of the body. 



Parker (4. p. 23) says : — " In addition [to these marks] tlie 

 whole body was covered with oval or circular grey spots, covered, 

 and thus toned down, by the silvery coating" (of the skin). 

 " These very obscure spots are hardly visible in certain lights." 



Clarke (8. p. 262) says of his specimen : — "As the fish gra'duaily 

 dried, numerous transverse markings developed themselves, more 

 especially along the whole of the postanal division, and the round 

 and greyish markings became more apparent." 



ISTow, in " ^. parheri " the characteristic black, irregular 

 streaks are entirely absent, but the silver ground-colour was 

 traversed by "14 dark transverse bands set at fairly regular 

 intervals from the back of the head to the end of the body. Each 

 band extends over the entire depth of the body and is separated 

 from its neighbour by a space about equal to its own length." 

 " These colour-bands are not black, but extremely pale grey, and 

 could only be recognised by reflection in certain lights, the grey 



37* 



