LUMPENUS. 
229 
jaws is set with a card of tine, pointed teeth, which 
is continued in the upper jaw by a few rows in the 
margin, the outermost of which is the most distinct, 
and contains the largest teeth, but in the lower jaw 
by only one row. Similar teeth occur on the head of 
the vomer and in a row on each of the palatine bones; 
the tongue, on the other hand, is smooth with the thin 
and rounded tip free. In the front part of the palate 
we find a distinct, transverse, membranous, palatal fold 
(velum), deeply incised at the middle. 
The gill-openings, as in the preceding species, 
large. Branchial arches four, the last of which is united 
to the wall of the branchial cavity. Branchiostegal 
membrane deeply incised at the bottom and united to 
the isthmus, with G rays. Above the preoperculum, 
which is closely united to the operculum, lies a strong 
masticatory muscle, which renders the temples thicker. 
The end of the opercular margin is truncate, pointing 
in an upward direction above the upper fold of the 
pectoral fins, and is continued by a thin, pointed, der- 
mal flap. The base of the triangle formed by the 
operculum, suboperculum and this flap is considerably 
less than half the distance from the end of the flap 
to the hind margin of the eye. 
The skin, with its copious secretion of mucus, is 
covered as in the preceding species, with very small, 
thin, rounded scales, some of which overlap each other. 
These scales are scarcely visible, until the mucus has 
been removed from the skin. The lateral line is in- 
distinct, runs straight along the depression in the sides 
of the body, about half-way between the dorsal and 
ventral edges. The vent lies half-way between the 
snout and the base of the caudal fin. The distance 
between the anal fin and the tip of the snout is about 
45 % of the length of the body. 
The dorsal fin begins in front of the pectoral fins 
— the distance between it and the tip of the snout is 
about 15 % of the length of the body — vertically 
above the insertion of the ventral fins, and runs along 
the back almost to the base of the caudal fin. It con- 
sists of hard, pungent rays, the points of which pro- 
ject above the margin of the fin-membrane, which thus 
acquires a serrated appearance. The first two or three 
rays are very short and look like independent spines, 
but in the male are generally united by a membrane, 
though free in the female. The next ten rays gradu- 
ally increase in height, from which point the height 
of the fin remains about the same for half its length, 
and then diminishes almost imperceptibly towards the 
end. The upper margin of the fin is thus arched, and 
its greatest depth is about equal to the diameter of 
the eye. The anal fin is of almost the same shape as 
the dorsal, and extends quite as near, or even nearer, 
the base of the caudal fin. It is only slightly loAver, 
and its lower margin is not so convex as the upper 
margin of the dorsal fin. The first two rays are usu- 
ally simple, the first of all being an unarticulated spi- 
nous ray; the others, from 33 to 36 in number, arti- 
culated and branched at the tip. The pectoral fins are 
especially singular in shape. When they are expanded, 
the hind margin is rounded at the top, w 1 1 i 1 e at the 
lower corner five or six long rays project beyond the 
margin of the fin-membrane. They contain 15 rays 
each, the uppermost being quite short and simple; the 
next eight or nine, which are about equal in length 
and branched at the tip, are united by the thin mem- 
brane right out to the point; but the next ray quite 
suddenly projects a long distance, about 1 / 3 of the length 
of the upper rays, beyond the fin-membrane, and is the 
longest ray in the whole fin. The last four or five rays 
gradually decrease in length, being of the same structure 
as the last-mentioned ray, and all bifid at the tip. 
When folded, the fin is of an oblique, lanceolate shape, 
measures about 14 % of the length of the body, and 
lies obliquely in an upward direction. The ventral fins, 
which are situated a little in front of the pectoral, 
close to each other, are of the same structure as in 
the preceding species, narrow, of almost uniform breadth, 
and in length equal to the lower jaw or about gv 2 % 
of the length of the body. The caudal fin is almost 
equal in length to the depth of the body, is wide and 
truncate or somewhat rounded at the end, and consists 
of 11 branched rays and one simple ray on each side, 
not to mention a few smaller and shorter (supporting) 
rays just at the base. 
The body is of a dirty yellowish colour, darker 
above and lighter below, marked along the sides above 
the lateral line with several dark, irregular, yellowish 
brown spots, which are edged with dark brown, and 
thus form, as it were, several dark rings, partly broken, 
and partly coalescent. As a rule, too, we find on the 
extreme dorsal edge five or six large, dark spots with 
the appearance of transverse bands. There is a row 
of smaller and lighter, round spots along the lateral 
line, and below it appear indistinct traces of similar 
spots. The ground-colour of the head is the same as 
