126 MR. J. Y. JOHNSON ON ALEPISAURUS FEROX. [April 8, 



1 , Remarks on a Specimen of Alepisaurus ferox recently 



OBTAINED AT MADEIRA. By JaMES YaTE JoHNSON, Corr. 



Mem. Z.S. 



Having lately procured a specimen of this rare and interesting fish 

 (which I have had the pleasure of presenting to the British Museum), 

 I beg leave to lay before the Society the result of my observations 

 upon it when in a fresh state. The remarks I shall make will be 

 for the most part supplementary to Mr. E. T. Bennett's long de- 

 scription of another specimen from this locality, printed in the first 

 volume of the 'Transactions of the Zoological Society*;' but I hope 

 they will be found to have some bearing upon the question of the 

 ichthyological position of the genus, which has been placed in no 

 fewer than four families by different naturalists. Mr. Lowe, who 

 founded the genus on the present species, placed it in Cuvier's family 

 of Tcemdides. M. Valenciennes referred the genus to the Salmonida. 

 Sir John Richardson, in his article on Ichthyology in the ' Encyclo- 

 paedia Britannica,' assigned it, on page 213, to the Sphyrcenidce, and 

 on page 248 to the Scopelidce. Lastly, that able ichthyologist. Dr. 

 Gilnther, asserts that its natural aflSinity is decidedly Siluroid (Cat. 

 Acanth. Fishes in Brit, Mus. ii. p. 353). A consideration of Mr. Ben- 

 nett's description and of the additional points about to be mentioned, 

 some of which appear to have been hitherto overlooked, will lead, I 

 think, to the conclusion that the position assigned to this fish by 

 Dr. Giinther is the true one. 



The specimen lately obtained is 53f inches long, the head mea- 

 suring 7| inches. The height of the body in front of the pectoral 

 fin is 4^ inches. The branchiostegal membrane is supported by 

 seven rays, which number may probably be taken as the normal one, 

 as it agrees with one of Mr. Lowe's specimens, the other of which 

 had six rays in that membrane. The fish has no barbels, in which 

 negative character it resembles the genus Batrachocephalus, a mem- 

 ber of the SiluridcB. The large eye (1|- inch in diameter) is sur- 

 rounded by an adipose skin, which, on the posterior side, intrudes as 

 a transparent veil upon the eye, covering it to the extent of one- 

 third. 



The subopercle of which Mr. Bennett spoke appears to be the 

 interopercle, which has been extraordinarily developed at the ex- 

 pense of the subopercle, the latter being wanting. Both this and 

 the opercle (which measures 2 inches across) are remarkable for their 

 paper-like tenuity and the high radiating striatures on their surfaces. 

 The hinder portion of the preopercle forms a strong bony ridge, also 

 striated. The coracoid is very broad at its middle, where it is sculp- 

 tured with radiating striae like the clavicle. The suprascapular and 

 the narrow scapular are longitudinally striated. The strise on all the 

 bones are strong. 



The remarkably high first dorsal fin has forty-one rays, and the 

 deeply-forked caudal fin nineteen rays, whilst the second dorsal is 

 adipose — in these respects agreeing with Mr. Bennett's description ; 



* See Trans. Zool. Soe. vol. i. p. 395. 



