SCYLLIUM VARIEGATUM. 



exactly one-fifth of the length of the entire fish ; the base of the anal fin is 

 equal in point of measurement to three times its depth. 



DIMENSIONS. 



In. Lin. 



In. Lin. 

 From the tip of the nose to the angle of the 



mouth 1 10 



Breadth of the gape 1 9 



From the tip of the nose to the centre of 



the upper lip 10 



of the nose to the anterior 



angle of the eye 1 1 



of the nose to the base of the 



pectoral fin 4 6 



From the tip of the nose to the base of 



the first dorsal fin 14 6 



of the nose to the base of 



the 2nd dorsal fin 17 9 



From base of 2nd dorsal to the tip of the 



caudal fin , 5 11 



From the base to the tip of the caudal fin 4 

 Total length of fish 23 6 



Male. — Colour and markings not known. 



The only specimen of the species I have yet seen was caught in Algoa Bay, and when it 

 was shown to the fishermen it was recognized by them as a rare fish. The length of the 

 cirri, and the nonextension of the nostrils internally of their base, form characters by which 

 this species is readily to be distinguished from Scyllium Africanum. The differences between 

 it and Scyllium Pantherinum are, on the other hand, rather obscure, and consist more in a 

 multitude of little discrepancies than in any of a very manifest description. The charac- 

 ters of the markings, in the first place, are different; in 5. Pantherinum no regular stripes 

 are ever observed ; in S. variegatum again stripes are observed, but neither rings nor tortuous 

 figures like those always exhibited by the former. The dorsal, anal, and caudal fins of 

 S. variegatum are larger in proportion than those of 5. Pantherinum, and the hinder edge of the 

 ventral fins more oblique. The figure of the latter species is also less robust. 



