ADDITIONS TO THE FISH FAUNA OF LORD HOWE ISLAND — WAITE. 199 
Macrorhamphosus gracilis, Houttyn . 
The opinion expressed by me that this species may be of more 
pelagic habit than M. scolopax ,* receives some support from the 
fact that an example taken on the beach at Lord Howe Island by 
Mr. Wm. Nichols proves to be M. gracilis. 
Hippocampus hippocampus, Linnaeus. 
A specimen from the island, registered under the synonym 
II. antiquorum , Leach, cannot, so far as I can see, be distinquished 
from this European species. It has been recorded from Cape York. 
Gempylus serpens, Cuvier and Valenciennes. 
The example now recorded was obtained per Mr. Icely in May 
1893, and measures 670 mm. in length. It differs in no way from 
specimens recorded from the Atlantic. Drs. Jordan and Evermannf 
describe the lateral line as being single, in our example it is cer- 
tainly double, the lower line is raised above the pectoral and 
otherwise runs straight along the body as described ; the upper 
one arises at the same point whence the lower one starts, namely 
just behind the first spine, and is continued along the dorsal profile 
close to the fin as far as its spinous termination. This condition 
was described by Cuvier and Valenciennes;!; in the following words — 
“ Sa ligne latdrale est droite, continue et sans inflexions ; i l y on a 
comme une seconde le long de la base de la premiere dorsale.” 
These authors also describe the palatines as being edentulous, and 
I fail to find the slightest trace of palatine teeth in our specimen; 
the American authors on the other hand write: — “palatines with 
a row of small teeth.” 
The Lord Howe Island specimen is more nearly allied to the 
type of G. serpens the Atlantic, than to G. coluber the Pacific form, 
a circumstance which favours the view that both are referable to 
the same species. Ft is to be inferred that the type of G. coluber 
has but one lateral line, a condition found in, presumably, Atlantic 
specimens by Jordan and Evermann. 
In the Pacific, Gempylus lias been found near the Society and 
Hawaiian Islands, its distribution is now therefore greatly extended 
westwards. “It is generally believed to be an inhabitant of great 
depths,” in this connection I am sorry not to be able to throw 
more light on the subject. The Lord Howe Island example was 
certainly not taken in deep water, but I am not aware whether it 
was caught on the line or thrown upon the beach. Of the wide 
* Waite — Aust Mus. Mein, iv., 1, 1899, p. 60. 
f Jordan and Evermann — Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus., 47, 1896, p. 884. 
X Cuvier and Valenciennes — Hist. Nat. Poiss., viii., 1831, p. 210. 
