Haast. — On some Undescrihed Fishes of New Zealand. 



273 



on the other hand, in his classical Catalogue of Fishes, does not even mention 

 such an occurence, although he describes five species which have all been 

 obtained either from the western coast of South America or from those of 

 Australia, the genus thus being an inhabitant of the Pacific Ocean only. 



It may be that the species described by Richardson belongs to some other 

 genus, as it has also been mentioned by Solander, and Banks has given a 

 figure of it. I may also add that none of the five species described by the 

 accomplished ichthyologist of the British Museum agrees with our New 

 Zealand specimen, and which thus may be fairly claimed as an addition to the 

 New Zealand fauna. 



It was named in honour of Dr. Donald, of Lyttelton, who presented it to the 

 Museum, and to whom we owe so many valuable additions to our collections. 



D. 15 1 18; A. |. 



Incisors tricuspid, placed in a band on both jaws, and in several rows of 

 which the outer series contains the largest. The six lower pectoral rays 

 simple. The ground colour is black, all mottled with slaty grey ', abdomen 

 slaty grey, the same colour as the spots ; fins mottled black and slaty grey, 

 like the body, with the exception of the pectoral fins, which are nearly black. 



Description. — The greatest height of the body is four times in the total 

 length, and is below the fifth dorsal spine ; the upper profile of the head and 

 nape of the neck is rather concave ; the head, which is only slightly convex 

 between the orbits, is one-fifth of the total length ; the operculum terminates 

 posteriorly in a point and is entire, difiering in that respect from H. punctatus^ 

 and lojihodon, in which this limb is divided by a deep semicircular notch. 



The dorsal fin beginning in a vertical line from the extremity of the 

 operculum has the first spine small, 5 lines, the second 11 lines, the third 

 1 in. 3 lines, which is the average height of fourth, fifth, and sixth, after 

 which the spines gradually diminish to the fifteenth or last spine. It is 

 continued by the soft one, which rises at once to 1 in. 3 lines, gradually 

 reaching a height of 1 in. 7 lines at the seventh ray, after which it gradually 

 diminishes to 7 lines at the last ray. 



A pad along the base of the dorsal fin is broadest at the base of the third 

 spine, gradually decreasing towards the middle of the soft one. 



Total length 



Length of head 



Height of body ... 



Diameter of eye .. 



Interspace between dorsal and caudal fin 



Length of caudal lobe 



Interspace between ventral and anal fin 



In. 



Lines. 



... 14 



1 



... 3 







... 3 



6 



... 



5 



1 



10 



2 



1 



3 



4 



K 



1 



