234 MALACOPTERYGII. 



weigh this character ; and further, I felt less reluctance in thus placing 

 it, in consequence of Cepola nihescens, which it assimilates in some re- 

 spects, having but one spinous ray, and that in the ventral fin. At the 

 suggestion of John Edward Gray, Esq., F.R.S., I have, however, recon- 

 sidered the subject, and have come to the conclusion above advanced. 



As a diflerence of opinion may still exist with regard to the 2)osition of 

 this genus, I subjoin the observations originally made. 



Like certain other genera which are comprehended under Acantliop- 

 ten/f/ii, the first order of the Osseous Fishes, its fins are altogether des- 

 titute of spinous rays, but like those alluded to, such as Zoarces, &c., its 

 other characters* seem to point out the T(eiiiouIes as the family to which 

 it belongs. Of the eight f genera of Tcenioides already known, viz. Le- 

 2)idojjns, Trichiurus, Gymnetrus, SUjli'phorus, Cepola, Lophotes, Trachyp- 

 tcriis, and Alepisaiinis,\ the specimen under consideration agrees with 

 Trichiurus and Sfylephorus in being apodal, or Avanting ventral fins, but 

 in this character only is there any generic accordance. Though con- 

 siderably more elongated, from the head posteriorly it approaches most 

 nearly to C'lpuln rubcsceiis in the form of the body and in the forward 

 commencement of the anal fin, Avhich, Avith the dorsal, is prolongated until 

 it joins the caudal ; but it is only in the continuity of these fins until 

 this junction is eflected that the resemblance holds, as in my specimen 

 the dorsal rays (of which the five foremost are very short) increase in 

 length posteriorly, and near the caudal fin are about three times as long 

 as the depth of the body beneath them ; in the anal fin, which is through- 

 out much higher than the dorsal, the rays likewise increase posteriorly, 

 and near the caudal are in length four times greater that the depth of the 

 body at the same place. The length of the posterior rays of these fins 

 causes the dorsal, anal, and caudal to appear as one, whilst, though they 

 do join in Cepola ruhescens, the last ray of the dorsal and anal being much 

 shorter than the outer rays of the caudal, may at the same time be said 

 to mark distinctly the termination of each fin.§ In my specimen the 

 anal originates two lines in advance of the dorsal fin. 



In the form of the head and in dentition it differs so remarkably from 

 all the other genera as to render a comparison with them unnecessary. 

 Its absolute characters must suffice for distinction. 



As Mr. Yarrell has, in his valuable work on British Fishes (vol. i. p. 

 185), suggested, that of the t\vo specimens described as Trichiuri by Mr. 

 Hoy in the Linncan Transactions (vol. xi. p. 210) the first may be the 

 type of a new genus, it should be observed, that this individual approxi- 

 mates the specimen under consideration in but one generic, and that a 

 negative, character, namely, the want of ventral fins." 



A friend who has seen my specimen informs me that in June, 1841, he 

 saw a fish captured on a hook baited with a sand-eel, between Bangor 

 and the Copeland Islands (entrance to Belfast Bay), which he thinlvs was 



* I allude to external characters only, being unwilling to dissect a specimen 

 as yet unique. 



t For the purpose of comparison, all the genera given by Cuvier in the 

 Regne Animal and Hist, de Poiss. are here brought together. 



X Zool. Trans, vol. i. p. 123. 



^^ For illustration of this, see Cuv. and Val. Hist, des Poiss. pi. 300. Two 

 species of Cepola from Japan, the C. limbata and C. marginata, are (as has been 

 observed in this work, tome x. p. 403) figured by Krusenstern with the caudal 

 tin contiguous to the dorsal and anal, as in the genus Anguilla. 



