CORYPHiENID^. Til 



Genus 3. — Luvakos, Bafinesque. 



Ausonia, Risso. Proctostegus, Nardo. Diana, Risso (young). Adrodei'mus, 

 Cuv. and Val. (youvg). 



Branohiostegals five : pseudobranchicB present. Bodif ohlong, anteriorly enlarged, 

 hut compressed and much decreased in size in its posterior two-tlilrds. Mouth small 

 and terminal. Teeth in a fine row in the jaws : also on palatines and tongue in the 

 yoiiN.g. A single rayed dorsal fin situated in the last half of the length of the bach in 

 adults, hut about o'ue-tliird longer in the young. Ventrals thoracic, which in, the 

 young inay possess an entire or serrated spine. Anal fin nearly similar to dorsal. 

 Caudal forked. A longitudinal keel along either side of the root of the tail in adults. 

 Opening of vent below origin of pectoral fin. Scales rudimentary. Air-bladder large. 

 Coecal appendages few. 



The dorsal fin is very curious, as the remains of a part of the anterior 

 portion which exists in the young is sometimes perceptible in the adult. The 

 bones of this fish are of a very soft consistence. 



Professor Giglioli has shown most conclusively that Diana semilunata, Risso, 

 is the immature of this fish. Such a modification is exceedingly remarkable 

 (see figure, p. 120). 



Geographical distribution. — Pelagic fishes found in the Mediterranean, and 

 occasional wanderers extend their range to the southern shores of the British 

 Isles, and even to Madeira. 



1. Luvarus imperialis, Plate XLIII. 



Luvarus imperialis, Rafin. Carat. Gen. 22, Spe. 53, Ind. Itt. Sioil. p. 39, 

 No. 290, pi. i, f. 1 ; C. Bonap. Catal. No. 700 ; Cuv. and Val. ix, p. 412 ; Giglioli, 

 Catal. Faun. Ital. p. 26 ; Moreau, Poiss. Prance, ii, p. 511. 



Ausonia Guvieri, Risso, Eur. Merid. iii, p. 342, f . xxviii ; Lowe, Proc. Zool. 

 Soc. 1843, p. 84 ; C. Bonap. Catal. No. 699 ; Giinther, Catal. ii, p. 414, and Proc. 

 Zool. Soc. 1866, p. 336, c, bad fig. of skeleton ; Canestr. Fauna Ital. p. 108 ; 

 Couch, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1866, p. 332, c. fig. ; Steind. Ich. Span. u. Port. 1868, 

 p. 31. 



Froctostegus prototypus, Nardo, Mem. " De Proctostego" Patavii, 1827, c. fig. 



Ausonia Gocksii, Couch, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. 1866, xviii, p. 424, and 

 Cornish Zool. 1866, p. 500 ; W. BuUmore, Journ. Royal Inst. Cornwall, 1866, 

 No. vi, p. 61, c. fig. 



(Young.) 



Coryphcena elegans, Risso, Mem. pres. I'lngt. 1814. 



Diana semilunata, Risso, Bur. Merid. iii, p. 267, t. vii, f. 14 ; Giinther, Catal. 

 ii, p. 413 ; Steind. 1. c. p. 30. 



Astrodermus coryphcenoides, Cuv. and Val. ix, p. 353, pi. cclxx ; Swainson, ii, 

 p. 255 ; Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1840, p. 37, and Trans. Zool. Soc. iii, p. 7. 



Astrodermus Valenciennessi, Cocco, Giorn. Sc. Lett. Art. Sic. f. 163, c. fig. 



Astroderma plumbeum, Lowe, Pro. Zool. Soc. 1843, p. 83. 



Astrodermus elegans, Bonap. Faun. Ital. Pesci. No. 701, c. fig. ; Canest. Faun. 

 Ital. p. 108 ; Moreau, Poiss. France, ii, p. 514. 



B. V, D. 1/11-13 (22-23 in the young), P. 14-18, V. 1/4, A. 1/14 (18 in young), 

 C. 16, Ccec. pyl. 5, Vert. 20 (Nardo), 11/11 (Giinther). 



Length of head 4^ to 5, of caudal fin Sf, height of body 4 to 4f in the total 

 length. Eye — small, situated nearly in the middle of the height of the head, 

 6 to 7 diameters in the length of the head, 2 diameters from the end of the 

 snout. Mouth not protractile, terminal, with the lower jaw prominent, the 

 extent of the gape scarcely exceeding that .of the diameter of the eye, while the 



