Vol. 5, p. 285-286. June 14, 1930. 



Occasional Papers 



OF THE 



Boston Society of Natural History. 



A NEW DEEP SEA FISH. 

 BY NICHOLAS BORODIN. 1 



Haplophryne simus, sp. nov. 



Specific characters. — Body short, ovoid, covered with nontransparent skin, 

 forming a kind of balloon. Snout short, abruptly cut. Nostrils large, situated 

 between eyes. The general form of the muzzle as with pug or bulldog. Lower 

 jaw much produced, curved. Eyes large, its pupil situated asymmetrically. 

 The position of the anus is also asymmetrical. P. 15; C. 8, four of these 

 eight rays being bifid. 



Description. — Body short, 16 mm. long, without caudal; depth less than 

 23^2 times in the length, covered with smooth, not transparent, loose skin. 

 Head high and long, 2}4 in body, with a depressed front, a short upper jaw 

 and projecting lower jaw. Eye large, oval, with asymmetrical pupil, its 

 longer diameter five times in head. Snout short, four times in head. Its tip 

 forms a short rostrum which bears two shortish denticles directed forwards. 

 Nostrils large, two-thirds of eye, having form of an oval, cup-shaped depression, 

 situated on one and the same crossline with the eyes; at the bottom of these 

 depressions two elliptical olphactory apertures. The depressions are rounded 

 with borders elevated over the surface of the cranium. Together with the 

 eyes tha nostrils form four holes, all directed forward; between them a rostrum 

 at the top of a short upper jaw, below a much longer, curved lower jaw, both 

 set up with depressible teeth, partly curved. Illicitum, if any, is not visible. 

 Pectoral fins are of typical pattern for all pediculate fishes. Caudal long, 

 four times in the body, with four ordinary and four other bifid rays. Dorsal 

 fin is represented with three hair-like rays, situated close to the caudal. 

 Anal, probably of the same shape, does not protrude outside of the balloon of 

 the skin, and thus is invisible. Gill openings are found with difficulty. They 

 appear in the form of a small spot, brighter than the surrounding area, below 

 the pectorals. Still less conspicuous is a small anus (vent), situated a little 

 below and behind the gill opening and asymmetrically on the left side of the 

 body. Color of skin dark gray with some irregular bright regions. The 

 skin is very loose, subjected to great extension and forming a kind of a balloon 

 in which the whole body is included. It is marked with small pores only 

 along the sides of the lower jaw. (Description from the type collected by 

 C. Iselin in 1929, at Lat. 54° 50' N.J Long. 64° 70' N.). 



x See Proc. N. E. Zool. Club 10: 109-111, 1929; 11: 87-92, 1930. 



285 





