69 
and is abruptly truncated posteriorly, so that the upper and 
binder margins form a right angle. The opercle is armed with 
an inconspicuous flattened spine ; preopercle entire. A band 
of villiform teeth in the jaws without an outer enlarged row ; 
a sub-cre^gntic patch on the vomer ; and a narrow band on the 
anterior half of the palatine bones. Dorsal spines weak j the 
third the longest, three-sevenths of the length of the head: 
anal fin commencing opposite to the middle of the intradorsal 
space, with two semi-detached spines in front, the anterior of 
which is the longer : ventral fins not reaching to the vent, and 
throe-fifths of the length of the head: pectorals well developed, 
pointed, five-sevenths of the same, and reaching to below the 
origin of the second dorsal : caudal fin crescentic, the middle 
rays being considerably shorter than the marginal rays, six 
and three-fifths in the total length. Head entirely covered 
with scales, which are much smaller and more finely ciliated 
than those of the body. Colors — Upper half of head and body 
deep purple, lower half pearly white, the line of demarcation 
on the body being well defined, but above the vent distinctly 
scalloped, while on the sides of the head there is an intermediate 
zone freckled with white and violet ; two rather obscure black 
bands run obliquely backwards and downwards from the 
postero-inferior margin of the eye ; isthmus and edges of the 
lower lip purple ; dorsal fins hyaline, the rays only freckled 
with purple ; upper half of the pectorals purplish, dotted 
with white ; ventral and anal fins white ; caudal purple with 
two transverse white bars on the posterior half. 
RE- DES 0 RTPTIO X OF A NOMA LOPS 
(BOD I).) 
PA L PE BRA TUS, 
By .T. Douglas Ogilby. 
To Capt. Braithwaite, of the Mission schooner “ Dayspring,” 
the Museum is indebted for two examples of this very 
rare and valuable deep sea fish ; so little known is it that 
according to Dr. Gunther (Yoy. “ Challenger” l.c. infra), who 
states that he has never personally had an opportunity of 
examining specimens, only six examples have been recorded, 
four of which are from Amboina and Manado, one from 
the Fiji Islands, and one from the Paumoto Archipelago 5 
these specimens therefore, which were obtained at the New 
Hebrides, raise the number known to exist in various 
Museums to eight, and help to shew the wide geographical 
range of this interesting fish. The same authority also 
