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Show 146 ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE. 4. MuRJENA --? FoaM.-Snout rather compressed before the eyes, not very long, and slightly obtuse. Upper jaw a very little in advance of the lower. The gape extends .behind the eyes, but the posterior portion is not equal to the anterior. The teeth, tubul~r ~nfices, and p~res,. are very much the same as in the species last noticed. Dorsal very d1stmct, commencmg m advance of the branchial orifice. Anal not so distinct as the dorsal. Length 5 inc. 6 lin. CoLoua.-Brown, but with some lighter specks and mottlings, more particularly on the lower jaw and on the fins. Taken by Mr. Darwin at Tahiti. Probably a new species, but, as in the last case, the specimen is young and not easily determinable. FISII. LOPHOBRANCHII. FAMILY.-SYNGNATHIDJE. 1. 8YNGNATHUS ACICULARIS. Jen. 147 PL.ATE XXVII. fig. 3. S . .fla~o-brunneus :. corpm·~ ?racillimo, comp1·esso, heptagono; cauda quadrangula: vert~ce :f!lano ,· cr~std occ~pltali parum conspicua; rostro longo, compresso, verticaliter capzte angustwre, margine superim·e acuto p1·ope recto: pinna dorsali told multum ante medium longitudinis sitd ; pinnis pectomlibus pm·vis, anali minutissima caudali distincta. ' LoNG. unc. 5. lin. 10. FonM.-Very similar to the S. Acus, but the body rather more compressed. The angles arc the same, and the middle lateral ridges of the trunk rise upwards in a similar manner to terminate b_ehind the do~al fi~. There are about seventy transverse shields or plates in the whole length, e1ght:en of _whiCh lie between the gills and the vent. Head much compressed about the gills, contamed w1th the snout about eight and a half times in the entire length. Crown nearly flat, with very little of an occipital ridge; profile falling obliquely, but not much out of a straight line; between the eyes a slight hollow. Snout elongated, a trifle more than half the entire length of the head, compressed, the upper edge sharp and nearly horizontal in front of the nostrils, vertically much narrower than the head. The dorsal commences at one-third of the entire length, and occupies a space about onetenth of the same, terminating before the middle: the number of rays is about forty or more. Vent about underneath the seventh dorsal ray. Anal extremely minute, of only one or two rays. Pectorals very small. Caudal distinct, much as in S. Acus. CoLOun.-(In spirits.) Of a nearly uniform yellowish brown, paler underneath. Habitat, Valparaiso. This species, taken by Mr. Darwin at Valparaiso, would seem to represent in that quarter of the globe the S. Acus of the European seas, which, on the whole, it much resembles, though there are several slight differences on a close comparison. It is a female specimen, being without the abdominal pouch, and is probably not full-sized. The dorsal fin being a little injured, and the rays very delicate as well as close-set, it is l1ardly possible to tell the exact number. The anal exists, but it is so extremely minute that it might easily be oYerlooked. 2. 8YNGNATHUS CONSPICILLATUS. Jen. PLATE XXVII. fig. 4. S. griseus,fasciis transversis fuscis; genis albicantibus, vittis duabus angustis Zongitudinalihus nigro-fuscis: cmpore crassiore, subcylindrico, ltexagono; cauda quadrunguld: vert ice elevato ,· c1·istis ocripitali et nucltali distinctis: oculis magnis pro- |