Pisces.] 



SUBANTARCTIC ISLANDS OF NEW ZEALAND. 



689 



In the absence of South American examples for direct comparison, I also pro- 

 visionally associate specimens taken on the expedition with this species. I have 

 not access to the original description and illustration, and though Kaup states that 

 he has " figured " the species, and also that he has given a " portrait " of it, I find 

 it neither on the plates nor mentioned in the list thereof. The following table shows 

 the comparative measurements of six examples. The great relative depth of the 

 body of the female is most conspicuous, and on this account Kaup made the species 

 the type of his genus Leftonotus, including also the South Australian and Tasmania 

 L. semistiatus, Kaup. 





A. 



B. 



C. 



D. 



E. 



F. 





cT 



¥ 



i 



? 



c7 



? 



Total length (in millimetres) 







161 



113 



119 



119 



106 



116 



Head in total lenoth . . 









9-2 



8-4 



8-5 



8-8 



8-8 



9-0 



Head in head-and-trunk 









3-4 



3-0 



31 



3-2 



3-4 



3-3 



Head-and-trunk in total 









2-7 



2-8 



^ 2-7 



2-7 



2-6 



2-7 



Head-and-trunk in tail 









1-7 



1-8 



1-7 



1-7 



1-6 



1-7 



Height in head 









2-5 



1-5 



2-3 



1-3 



2-7 



1-9 



Snout in head 









2-2 



2-7 



2-3 



2-2 



2-3 



2-6 



Eve in head . . 









5-8 



6-7 



7-0 



6-4 



6-0 



6-5 



Egg-pouch in tail 









5-0 



. . 



4-4 



. , 



4-4 





Bodv rings 









19 



19 



19 



19 



20 • 



18 



Caudal rings . . 









47 



47 



46 



46 



46 



46 



Dorsal begins on ring No. 









17 



17 



17 



17 



17 



17 



Dorsal stands on (number of rings) 







12 



10 



10 



11 



11 



11 



Pouch stands on (number of rings) 







12 





12 





12 





Dorsal rays . . 







37 



35 



36 



38 



36 



39 



Pectoral rays . . 







11 



10 



13 



11 



13 



13 



Caudal rays . . 





. 10 



10 



10 



10 



10 



10 



Vertebrae, 23 + 44 = 67. 



The dorsal keels are separated by a space equal to two-thirds the diameter of 

 the eye, but widen somewhat behind the nape. These keels are lost below the hinder 

 part of the dorsal fin. The upper lateral keels follow the curvature of the back, 

 become sinuous below the fin, thence form the upper keels of the tail. The lower 

 lateral keels are similarly continuous with the caudal keels. There is also a very 

 prominent ventral keel, which, however, is not continued on to the tail ; the latter 

 is therefore square in section. None of our females exhibit the " knife-like acute- 

 ness of the back " mentioned by Kaup, nor does the height of the body measure 

 more than three times its thickness. It appears, therefore, that we have not speci- 

 mens of such " advanced age " as those examined by this writer. 



The general colour is olive-brown above and pale-grey beneath. The markings 

 vary considerably, and in some instances are so extensive as to occupy almost the 

 whole area. This condition is commoner in the female, in which the body is usually 

 of even coloration. In a male, in which the markings are well defined, there are 

 four light bands between the pectoral and the pouch, each with a margin darker 

 than the ground-colour. There are two bands below the dorsal fin, and seven on 

 the tail. The whole of the body, the lower surface excepted, is ornamented with 



