128 
CORNISH CENTROLOPHU8. 
little tlie shortest; the gape moderate; teeth fine. The breadth 
of the body is carried evenly to within a short distance of the 
tail; lateral line arched for a small distance, and then passes 
straight to the tail. Scales not perceptible. Border of the 
foremost gill~cover free, with soft projections, as if serrated. 
The ridge along the hack begins close behind the head, and 
the dorsal fin, which is embedded in it, begins at first obscurely 
anterior to the origin of the pectoral fin; the rays, which are 
firm, are so closed up by the skin of the dorsal ridge, as to 
be but little capable of motion. This skin becomes wider beyond 
the middle of the body, as does also the anal fin, which is 
equally embedded in a ridge, and both end almost opposite 
each other, at an inch from the tail. The pectoral fin was 
much mutilated from injury when cast on shore, as were also 
the ventral fins, which appear to have been small, and were a 
little behind the pectorals. The tail wide, and deeply divided. 
Colour nearly uniform brownish pink, lighter on the belly, 
darker along the top of the back, and still darker on the fins. 
The tail darker than the fins. As well as I could count them, 
the rays of the dorsal fin were forty-seven, in the pectoral 
seventeen, anal twenty-nine, and caudal twenty-five. In pre- 
serving it the stomach was found of large size, and contained 
green and red sea-weeds. Bones of the head and back soft as 
cartilage. The flesh resembled that of the Sunfish. There 
were not any teeth in the palate, as in the genus Corypheena. 
The small difference in the relative dimensions, as given 
above, from those of Dr. Gunther, is to be ascribed to the 
process of setting up; and Dr. Gunther further observes, that 
the rays of the fins are feeble, low, and the point where the 
species pass into the rays cannot be distinguished. Both the 
dorsal and anal fins have scales. The rays of all the fins are 
shorter and much more slender than in the Pompilus; to which, 
we may add, that the general proportions of the body of these 
species differ considerably. 
