448 



and the slit between them extending forward to below the 

 eye. No longitudinal skin - fold on the side of the 

 abdomen. A skinny, pointed lobe behind the operculum 

 above the base of the pectoral ; vent well behind the middle 

 of the body, with a rounded flap covering the urinogenital 

 orifice. 



Scales. — Body covered with scales, which are largely 

 rudimentary and enveloped in skin-folds extending obliquely 

 across the body. A longitudinal row at the base of the dorsal 

 fin is differentiated from the following two or three between 

 it and the lateral line ; the row directly above the lateral line 

 is marked with a vertical tubule on each scale posteriorly, 

 but the tubules become small and interrupted, and finally 

 disappear anteriorly. Scales of the sides completely enveloped 

 in the skin-folds, those of the ventral surface free. Scales 

 cover the base of the caudal fin and extend up between the 

 rays. Lateral line formed of simple tubes extending over 

 107 scales, subparallel with the back for the greater part 

 of its length, and terminating on the upper part of the caudal 

 peduncle. 



Fins. — Dorsal and anal fins placed in shallow grooves. 

 Dorsal originating behind the base of the pectoral and formed 

 of slender, subequal rays, most of which are bifurcate ; the 

 third and fourth are higher than those immediately following 

 them, but the succeeding ones gradually increase in length 

 again. Anal originating about midway between the base of 

 the pectoral and the end of the caudal fin, and terminating 

 well behind the end of the dorsal ; its third ray is the longest, 

 the next two or three decrease rapidly, and succeeding ones 

 become gradually shorter. Pectoral pointed, the fourth upper 

 ray longest ; it can be received into a depression in the side 

 when adpressed. Caudal deeply forked. 



Colour. — Uniform sandy-yellow in formaline, the opercles 

 blackish. 



Described and figured from a specimen 166 mm. long. 

 It is closely allied to B. [/ill/, Bean/ 6 ' and may be identical 

 with that species, but has 112 instead of 97 scales between 

 the origin of the lateral line and the hypural joint, and 

 3, 1, 18 across the middle of the body instead of 3, 14 trans- 

 verse rows. 



T.oc. — Lord Howe Island; collected for the Trustees of 

 the Australian Museum by Mrs. Thomas Nichols. The 

 habitat of B. gilli is unknown, but the specimens on which 

 the species was founded were supposed to have been collected 

 in the Pacific by Dr. Stimpson. 



(6) Bean: Proc. U.S. Nat. Mas., xvii., 189o, p. 629. 



