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These two individuals, together with a third of smaller size, and certainly of another species, were procured in the market of San Francisco by W. G. W. Harford, in 1876. The fishmonger called them "deep-sea fish," and said that he had never seen the kind before. No others have appeared in the market since. A smaller example is in the museum of the State University, Berkeley, and was procured in Washington Territory.

The relations of this fish are probably with the Blennioid fishes. It can, however, hardly be referred to any of the current families, and should perhaps form the type of a separate one.

Osmerus attenuatus.

Osmerus elongatus Lockington, Rep. Commissioners Fisheries State of Cal., 1879, p. 43; not Osmerus elongatus Ayers, Proc. Cal. Acad., Vol. I, p. 17.

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Form elongate, fusiform, dorsal outline rising gently to a point just behind the origin of the pectoral, thence almost straight to dorsal, thence tapering regularly to the caudal peduncle. Abdominal outline straight from the posterior extremity of the maxillary to the ventrals, thence inclining upwards slowly to the caudal peduncle.

Greatest depth 73-83 times; head 43 to nearly 5 times in the total length; eye about 4 times in the length of the head; snout about the same length as the eye; caudal peduncle 23-23 times in the greatest depth.

Viewed from above, the forehead and snout diminish in width anteriorly.

Nostrils conspicuous, divided by a thin partition, simple, situated on a line from the top of the pupil to the tip of the snout, and about halfway between the latter and the anterior margin of the orbit.

Eyes large, subcircular, entirely in the anterior half of the head; upper orbital margins raised, but the interorbital space between these margins flat transversely.

Mouth large, the commissure straight and ascending anteriorly at an angle of about 30°, the tip of the upper jaw horizontal with the center of the pupil, and the posterior extremity of the maxillary on a vertical line from the posterior margin of the pupil; mandible straight on its lower border, its tip projecting beyond that of the upper jaw.

Dentition tolerably strong, on jaws and palatines. Teeth of upper jaw in a single row, numerous, small, slender, those in front inclined forward, a large tooth at the symphysis.

Lower jaw with a double row of slightly recurved teeth in front, the outer extending only about one-fifth of the length of the sides of the mandible, the inner row extending along the sides, and consisting of larger teeth than the outer or than those of the upper jaw; the largest situated along the sides, and much wider apart than those of the upper jaw.

Inner palatine row of numerous small teeth; outer palatine series

very variable in its development, but usually consisting of few rather large teeth, increasing in size forwards, the anterior tooth sometimes quite a large canine. Teeth in front part of tongue in a single series on each side, with a single terminal tooth; all the teeth large and curved, the terminal tooth largest. A large patch of several rows of villiform teeth on the base of the tongue, marked off by a constriction from the terminal patch.

Gill-rakers long and slender, those of first pair of branchial arches half as long as the eye, the others diminishing gradually. Branchiostegals seven.

Angle of preoperculum a little more than a right angle, both the posterior and the inferior margins nearly straight. Posterior margin of gill-cover forming a bold and almost regular curve, its most posteriorly produced portion occupied by the suboperculum.

Pectoral of fourteen rays, the third or fourth longest, narrow, the rays bifurcate. Tips of the pectorals distant from the ventrals more than the length of the ventrals.

Ventrals not greatly shorter than the pectorals; the rays bifurcate, their tips not reaching to the anus; insertion of ventrals about one scale in advance of that of dorsal.

Dorsal of one spine and ten bifurcate rays, highest in front, the height about twice the length of the base; the second ray slightly longer than the first, the last longer than the spine. Anal commencing at about the posterior third of the total length, and consisting of seventeen branched rays, the first very short, the second nearly equal to the third and longest, the fourth nearly equal to the third, thence descending gradually.

Caudal deeply emarginate, almost forked; rays 11-10-9-, principal rays several lines branched.

Lateral line not very distinct, running along the center of the silvery band of each side. Scales rather large, their exposed portion forming a diamond-shaped pattern, each diamond about twice as deep as long. Head scaleless.

No scales upon the fins.

Adipose fin falcate, rather large.

Color of the fresh fish.-Light greenish gray on the back, the pattern of the scales marked by a series of black dots around the edge of each; these die out upon the silvery lateral line. A very bright silvery line along the side, reaching one scale above lateral line; the upper boundary of this band distinct, the lower fading into the silvery-white of the belly. Operculum and suboperculum bright like the lateral band, except above, where they become greenish gray like the back; snout and cheeks darker greenish gray than the back. Lower jaw with black points below and on the sides, closer together toward the tip. Fins spotted with dark points. Forehead between eyes almost black; eyes silvery; pupil black.

Locality, San Francisco.

The whole fish is highly transparent when fresh, the outline of the brain being clearly visible through the occiput.

From Osmerus thaleichthys, which at first sight nearly resembles it, this species may be distinguished by the following characters: The slightly greater length and more tapering form of the snout, when viewed from above; the straight lower jaw, which in O. thaleichthys is considerably curved upwards toward the tip; the gradual declivity of the upper outline of the head, which in the latter species is straight with the line of the back; the larger eyes; the different arrangement of the teeth; the more elongated body, much less curvate along the abdominal outline; and the much greater distance between the tips of the pectorals and the base of the ventrals.

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Nos. 1, 2, and 3 are alcoholic specimens; the others were measured while fresh.

The comparatively elongate form of this fish induced me to believe that this species must be 0. elongatus Ayres (Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci., I, 17, 1854), but as the latter ichthyologist transmitted examples of his species to Washington, and these examples were examined by Girard, and found by him to be identical with his Osmerus pretiosus (= Argentina pretiosa Grd. Hypomesus olidtus (Pallas) Gill), there is no doubt that the foregoing is an undescribed species.

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There are thus four species of Microstomatida on the Pacific coast, United States, viz, Thaleichthys pacificus, Hypomesus olictus, Osmerus thaleichthys, and O. attenuatus. The first of these does not occur in the markets of San Francisco, but is sent down packed in salt from the Columbia River, also to some extent in oil, under the name of "Columbia River sardines." The other three are brought into the markets in a fresh state. Hypomesus olictus grows to the largest size, and is most highly esteemed of the three. Osmerus attenuatus is tolerably abundant in the markets during the spring and summer months.

DESCRIPTION OF A NEW HAKE (PHYCIS EARLLII), FROM SOUTH CAROLINA, AND A NOTE ON THE OCCURRENCE OF PHYCIS REGIUS IN NORTH CAROLINA.

1. Phycis earllii Bean.

By TARLETON H. BEAN.

The United States National Museum has just received from Mr. R. E. Earll three specimens of a species of Phycis which differ from all the other recognized eastern American species. It is quite unlike P. tenuis, P. chuss, and P. chesteri, since none of the rays of the first dorsal are produced. In the shape of the anterior dorsal and the general form of the body it resembles P. regius, from which, however, it may be at once distinguished by its much smaller scales. From P. DeKayi Kaup it is well separated by the structure of its anterior dorsal, and by having the ventrals shorter than the head. The species differs also from P. rostratus Gthr. in having a much greater number of scales between the anterior dorsal and the lateral line.

Mr. Earll secured these fish in the market of Charleston. They were numbered 131 in his collecting invoice, and are catalogued as numbers 25207, 25208, and 25209 of the Museum Register. The species is dedicated to its discoverer, who first collected it and called attention to its specific distinctness from the four known east coast forms.

DESCRIPTION.-The species is short and stout, resembling in this respect P. regius. The greatest height of the body equals twice the length of the longest ray of the anterior dorsal, and is contained 5 times in the total length, caudal included. The length of the head is contained 33 times in the length of the body, measured to the origin of the middle caudal rays. The length of the snout equals the distance between the eyes. The length of the upper jaw equals half that of the head. The length of the eye is contained nearly twice in length of snout, 6 times in length of head, and nearly 4 times in the length of the postorbital part of the head. The lower jaw is as long as the upper, but is received within it. The maxilla extends somewhat behind the vertical through the posterior margin of the eye. The barbel is as long as the upper jaw, or nearly so. Both jaws and the head of the vomer are armed with teeth in villiform bands, as in other species of the genus.

The pectorals are as long as the postorbital part of the head.

The ventrals extend nearly to the vent, and their length is contained 4 times in the distance from the tip of the snout to the end of the second dorsal.

The distance of the anal from the tip of the snout nearly equals the length of the anal base.

The origin of the anterior dorsal is directly over the axil of the pectoral; the dorsals are subcontinuous; none of the rays of the anterior

dorsal are produced, and none of them are longer than the longest rays of the second dorsal. The longest anal ray is not much more than half as long as the longest dorsal ray, and equals half the length of the pectorals. The length of the anterior dorsal base is about equal to that of the snout; the second dorsal base is about 2 times as long as the ventral fin.

The length of the middle caudal rays is contained 8 times in the total length without caudal.

The typical specimens are 13 inches, 133 inches, and 14 inches long, respectively.

Radial formula.-B. VII; D. 10, 60-63; A. 53–54; P. 15.

There are 21 or 22 rows of scales between the anterior dorsal and the lateral line, and about 155 along the lateral line.

Color.-Brown, with some light spots on the second dorsal and the sides; the anal fin and the two dorsals margined with darker brown.

2. Phycis regius (Walb.) Jor. & Gilb.

Col. Marshall McDonald, among numerous interesting forms of southern fishes, has recently secured 6 specimens of this species of Phycis, which were taken in a haul seine, March 26, 1880, at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, in North Carolina. These are numbered 90 in his collecting invoice. Phycis regius has not been recorded so far south before; specimens have been taken in York River, a tributary of Chesapeake Bay. The discovery of two gadoids as far south as the Cape Fear and Charleston is quite unexpected. U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM,

Washington, April 9, 1880.

DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF SEBASTICHTHYS (SEBASTICHTHYS MINIATUS), FROM MONTEREY BAY, CALIFORNIA.

By DAVID S. JORDAN and CHARLES H. GILBERT.

Sebastichthys miniatus sp. nov.

Allied to Sebastichthys pinniger Gill.

Body oblong, the form much as in S. pinniger and S. atrovirens; the caudal peduncle rather stouter than in pinniger. Head moderate, somewhat pointed, the profile not very steep. Mouth rather large, the maxillary reaching to opposite the middle of the pupil, the premaxillary in front on the level of the lower edge of the pupil. Lower jaw projecting somewhat beyond the upper, with a rather conspicuous symphyseal knob, which is larger than in pinniger. Middle of lower jaw elevated, so that the mesian teeth are much raised, and fit into an emargination

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