OCR Text |
Show 46 ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OF TilE BEAGLE. of their relative lengths. Anal spine very slender, and about half the lengt~ of the soft rays. The caudal is injured, but appears to have been of nearly the same form as m the U. arenata. The pectorals are about three-fourths the length of the hea~, but .the ends of the rays are worn. The ventrals are of the same length as the pectorals m their present state: they are placed rather backwarder than in the U. arenata, being attached beneath the first third of the pectorals : there is a pointed ~>cale in their axilla, of about the same relative size as in that species. The scales on the body are rather smaller, ciliated on their free edges, with a fan of eleven or twelve strire behind. There are rows of small scales on the caudal, but none apparent on the other fins. CoLOUR.-Mr. Darwin did not notice the colours of this species in its recent state. In spirits, it appears of a nearly uniform dusky brown, but paler on the abdomen, with traces of silvery reflections about the head. The fins are dark, but the anal paler at the base than at the tips of the rays. Habitat, Coquimbo, Chile. This species may be at once distinguished from all those described in the ' Histoire des Poissons,' by its very elongated form. The head also has a peculiar character about it, and is not unlike that of some serpents. It appears to be the first species of this genus brought from the Pacific, the other foreign ones being all found either in the Indian seas, or on the Atlantic side of America. There are two specimens in the collection, exactly similar, and both obtained by Mr. Darwin at Coquimbo. They are, however, both in very bad condition; so much so, indeed, that I should have hesitated about describing them as new, had they not presented several obvious peculiarities. GENus-PRIONODES.* Jen. Serrani formam quam maxime gerens. Pinna dm·salis unica, per totam longitudinem subrequalis. Membrana bmncltialis septem-radiata. Nee fovea, nee pori, infdt sympltysin. Dentes maxillar·es velutini, serie externd creteris fm·tiori, paucis, /tic illic spar sis, subcaninis; palatini nulli. Pr·eoperculurn denticulatum. Operculum rnucronibus tribus postice arrnatum. Spina aualis secundafm·tis. Squamce corporis ciliatce ; minutissimce inter radios pinnarurn verticalium, in seriebus dispositre. I am called upon either to establish this new genus among the Sciamidre, or to break down one of the essential distinctions set by Cuvier l>etween this family • Serr&! figuram habens. A wp1wv. |