170 MR. J. Y. JOHNSON ON NEW GENERA AND SPECIES [Juiie 10, 



sharp teeth curving backwards ; and the pharyngeals are armed with 

 scobinate bands of teeth. The inside of the mouth is black, as well 



if^M'ia 



as the tongue, which is small, toothless, and free at the tip. The 

 gill-openings are side by side on the ventral aspect of the body, in 

 advance of the pectoral fins ; they are separated by a membrane 

 placed inside a single external aperture. The dorsal fin commences 

 behind the vent, a little posterior to the commencement of the second 

 third of the total length, and joins the caudal, like the anal fin, 

 without a break. It is higher behind, but is throughout much lower 

 than the anal ; the greater part of it is covered with a scaly skin, as 

 is also the greater part of the anal fin. The pectoral fins are well 

 developed, pointed, and situate a little behind the gill-openings, 

 below the middle of the height. The ventral fins are wanting. The 

 vent is in the first third of the total length. The anal fin commences 

 just behind the vent ; it is considerably higher about the middle and 

 behind than in front. The caudal is rounded. The lateral line is 

 distinctly marked ; it falls gently from the shoulder, but for the 

 greater part of its length is straight along the middle of the body. 

 The air-bladder is long, being more than one-third of the length of 

 the body. * The food found in the stomachs of dissected specimens 

 consisted of the rem.ains of fishes and crustaceans. The peritoneal 

 lining is of a dark-blue colour. 



Dedicated to Dr. Kaup of Darmstadt, who has well studied this 

 order of fishes. Specimens have been sent to the British Museum. 



The following figures give the dimensions in inches of one of the 

 larger examples : — 



Total length 32 



Depth in the neighbourhood of the vent 3 



Thickness 1^ 



Distance from snout to pectoral 4| 



from snout to vertical of vent 9| 



from snout to vertical of commencement of dorsal . . 1 1 ^ 



Eye, diameter, nearly g 



Rictus, depth 2^ 



, width at back -^-^ 



Length of bone of upper jaw , . . 2^ 



of gill-openings 



J) 



J 



of pectoral 1 2 



Width of base of pectoral, nearly ^ 



Length of rays at middle of anal LI 



of rays of caudal j^^^ 



