ON THE ICHTHYOLOGY OF THE SEAS OF CHINA AND JAPAN. 315 

 Moringua ? Temm. et Schl. 



The British Museum possesses a Japanese Moringua of which we do not know the specific 

 name, as the lable originally attached to it had been transposed before it was purchased by 

 the museum. It differs from M. lumbricoidea in its more slender, elongated body, narrower 

 fins and longer under-jaw. The rays are perceptible round the end of the tail only, the rest 

 being concealed by the thickness of the membrane. The teeth are similar to those of lum- 

 bricoidea. Though the specimen is 26£ inches long, it is no thicker than a lumbricoidea only 

 ten inches in length. The genus seems to be the same with Ptyobranchus of J. M'Clelland, 

 but his Indian species all differ in the shape of the fins. 



Ha b. Japan. 



Ichthyophis vittatus, Richardson, Ichth. of Voy. of Sulphur, p. 114. 

 pi. 53. f. 7, 9. Genus, Ichthyophis, Lesson. 



We are ignorant of the internal structure of this fish, but from the posterior position of the 

 anus it is probably to be referred to the Sphagebranchidce of Miiller (Ophicardides, M'Clelland). 

 A stuffed skin exists in the Haslar Museum, which was brought from China by Commissioner 

 Elliot. 



Hab. China. 



Apterichthys quadratus, Richardson, Ichth. of Voy. of Sulphur, p. 115. 

 pi. 52. f. 8-15 (Sphagebranchus). Genus, Apterichthys, Dumeril; Cecilia, 

 Lacep. Cuv. Regn. An. ii. p. 353. 



Hab. China. Specimen in Sir Edward Belcher's collection. 



Amphipnous cinereus, M'Clelland (Pneumabranchus), Calc. Journ. Nat. 

 Hist. iv. p. 411. pi. 25. f. 3. Genus, Amphipnous, Muller, Archiv. p. 15, 

 1840. 

 Hab. China. Chusan. Ning poo. 



Monopterus uevis, Lacepede ( Unibranchapertura), v. p. 658. Richard- 

 son, Ichth. of Voy. of Sulphur, p. 116. Monopterejavanais, Lacep. p. ? 



A specimen obtained at Hong Kong by R. A. Bankier, Esq. was presented by him to the 

 museum at Haslar Hospital. 



Hab. China. Hong Kong. Malay archipelago 1 



Monopterus cinereus, Richardson, Ichth. of Voy. of Sulphur, p. 117. 

 pi. 52. f. 1-6. synon. exclus. 



On consulting Mr. M'Clelland's paper in the 18th number of the Calcutta Journal, I find 

 that, misled by the close similarity of the outline of Pneumabranchus cinereus in the fourth 

 volume of the above-mentioned journal to that of this Chinese fish, I erred in considering 

 them to be the same species. This fish has a naked skin, while the bodies of his Pneuma- 

 branchi {Amphipnous, Muller, 1840) are covered with imbricated scales. 



Hab. China. Chusan. Woosung. 



Monopterus marmoratus, Temm. et Schl. ( Unibranchapertura). 



The British Museum possesses an example of this species which was procured by Dr. Cantor 

 at Chusan. It is 17$ inches long, the part behind the anus measuring 3*45, and being con- 

 sequently proportionally a little shorter than the tail of either Icevis or cinereus. The head is 

 decidedly larger than in cither of these species, and when measured to the posterior corner of 

 the gill-opening, rather exceeds a tenth of the whole fish. A deep furrow runs along the middle 

 of the back, which is narrower than the belly from the head to opposite the anus, and the 

 action of the muscles produces a furrow coincident with the lateral line, which disappears 

 when the parts are stretched. The belly is rounded. The lateral line in the middle of the 

 height is composed of a series of very fine grooves, and is darker than the neighbouring parts. 

 The tail is edged above and below by a very narrow translucent seam of pale skin entirely 

 destitute of rays. 



The ground colour, after maceration in spirits, is wood-brown, thickly speckled on the 

 head, back and sides with dark umber-brown. On the top of the back the umber-brown specks 

 are arranged so as to produce three lines, one occupying the mesial groove, and the other two 

 the ridges on each side. On the sides the specks produce two series of short curves which 

 meet at the lateral line in an angle and seem to correspond with the fasciculi of muscular 



