FISHES OF HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 
79 
33. Veternio verrens Snyder. Plate 5, fig. 1. 
Head, from tip of snout to upper edge of gill-opening, 0.64 of trunk; depth 0.42 of head; eye 0.13; 
snout 0.26; length of pectoral 0.36. 
Head very long and pointed, upper profile sloping gently from tip of snout to occiput; interorbital 
space flat, its width 0.16 of head; snout slender, projecting beyond lower jaw a distance equal to 0.5 of 
diameter of eye; cleft of mouth somewhat oblique, extending beyond eye a distance equal to 0.3 of 
pupil; no teeth, the vomer, maxillaries, and mandible with broad, flat, smooth surfaces; tongue free, 
tip rounded; lips thin, simple; anterior nostrils at end of snout, with low rims and posterior flaps; 
posterior nostrils close to upper anterior part of eye, without rims, rounded oval in shape; a pair of 
large mucous tubes at tip of snout, a tube immediately behind anterior nostril and one on each side 
of snout just above the latter; gill-openings lunate, their width about 0.15 of length of head; lateral 
line somewhat above middle of body anteriorly, gradually extending downward and reaching middle 
of body a short distance beyond the vent. Pectoral inserted just below middle of body, obtusely 
pointed, upper rays longest, lower border convex; dorsal inserted above middle of base of pectoral, 
height of fin at a point above tip of pectoral equal to vertical diameter of eye, at a point twice the 
length of head behind the vent, the length of rays equals length of snout; 65 rays between its insertion 
and a vertical through the anal opening; anal inserted immediately behind vent, its height equal to 0.5 
the length of snout. Color plain, fins edged with black. 
Color in spirits brown, darker above than below; pectorals brownish, growing black toward tips; 
dorsal brownish, shading into black along edge; anal bordered with black, the band about half as 
wide as pupil and sharply defined. 
A single mutilated specimen (type, No. 50862, U. S. Nat. Mus.) from the Honolulu market 
measures 10.63 inches from snout to vent. The tail was severed 12.6 inches behind the vent. 
Veternio verrens Snyder, Bull. U. S. Fish Comm., XXII, 190-2 (Jan. 19, 1904), 516, pi. 2, fig. 3, Honolulu. 
Family XXIX. XETTASTOMIIDE. 
Eels without pectoral fins, with the tongue not free, the posterior nostrils remote from the lip, the 
gill-openings small, separate, and subinferior, the vent remote from the head, the tail ending in a 
slender tip or filamant, the dorsal and anal fins moderately developed, and the jaws produced, slender, 
and straight, the upper the longer, and both, as also the vomer, armed with bands of sharp, close-set, 
recurved, subequal teeth. This family contains a few species of deep-sea eels, closely allied to the 
Murxnesocidx in technical characters, but more resembling the Nemichthyidx in appearance, form of 
the head, and in dentition. Deep-sea fishes with fragile bodies and thin skin charged with black pig¬ 
ment. A single Hawaiian genus and species, described in Section II. 
Family XXX. XEMICHTHVID/E.- The Snipe Eels. 
Body excessively slender, not strongly compressed, deepest near the middle, tapering backward 
to the tail, which usually ends in a long and slender filament, and forward to a very long and slender 
neck, which is abruptly enlarged at the occipital region; no scales; lateral line represented by one or 
more rows of pores; head resembling that of Tylosurus; the head proper, small, short, and rather 
broad, with flat top and vertical sides; nostrils large, close together in front of the eye, without tube 
or flap; jaws excessively prolonged, almost needle-like, the upper the longer and somewhat recurved; 
teeth in both jaws small, very numerous, close-set, retrorse; gill-openings rather large, running down¬ 
ward and forward, separated by a narrow isthmus or partly confluent; pectorals well developed; anal 
fin higher than dorsal, beginning near the vent, becoming obsolete on the caudal filament; dorsal 
beginning close behind occiput, its anterior rays soft, succeeded by a long series of very low, simple, 
spine-like rays, which are slightly connected by membrane, their height rather less than the length 
of the interspaces; on the tail these spines again give place to soft rays; the soft rays of the fins are 
connected by thin membranes instead of being imbedded in thick skin, as in eels generally. Color 
translucent, the lower parts dark, the back pale; stomach not distensible; muscular and osseus systems 
well developed; abdominal cavity extending far behind the vent. The species are little known and 
their anatomy has not been studied; they are certainly eels, and their nearest relation seems to be 
with the Nettastoinidse. 
