y 
316 Storer on the 
that of body. Eyes very largé : orbitar bones prom- 
inent: whole head bony. A longitudinal furrow 
extends from before eyes, between them to occiput. 
A transverse depression exists back of eyes, and also 
another at occiput. 'The snout has two recurved 
spines at its extremity, and a third, smaller one, back 
of them, curving forwards. Mouth small; nume- 
rous minute teeth in both jaws. 'l'he operculum ter- 
minates in a spiny process. 
The Dorsal fin is situated upon the posterior 
. half of the body, at the extreme portion of the dor- 
sal furrow. 
. Owing to the imperfect state of specimen, it is 
impossible to be entirely accurate with regard to the 
number of the fin rays: they are, however, very 
nearly as follows: D.5; P.10; V. 4; A.4; C. 
16: 
This species is unquestionably the fish which was 
first described by Bloch as the “ Cottus monoptery- 
gius," and minutely described as the * Aspidophorus 
monopterygius" by Cuvier, in the fourth volume of 
his “ Histoire Naturelle des Poissons.  Lacepede 
formed the genus “ Aspidophoroides," to receive the 
species above described, it being the only known 
^Aspidophorus" with a single dorsal fin. At the 
time this genus was formed, the species of which 
we have been speaking was supposed to have been. 
brought from the East Indies. Cuvier, however, in 
his description, says he has not received it from 
the East Indies in any of his numerous collections 
from that quarter of the world ; and finally, Rich- 
ardson, in his * Fauna Boreali Americana," ob- 
