CO129-554-6 Hong Kong University- 1. Appointment of Dr. Chen Shas Yi as head of Chinese Department... 18-3-1935 - 28-10-1935 — Page 64

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HENRY W. FOWLER

Vertebrac

Body slender. Tail much longer than trunk, with 11 to 15 rings, depressed. Snout more or less elongate, edges denticulate, narrow. 19 to 21, of which 12 to 14 caudal.

Synopsis of the Species.

a'. Tail longer than rest of body, with 12 rings.

a2. Tail subequal with trunk, with 11 rings.

Parapegasus natans (Linnaeus).

natans.

volans.

Pegasus natans Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 12, pt. 1, 1766, p. 418. India. -Günther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., vol. 8, 1870, p. 148 (North China; China Seas).

Leptopegasus natans Bleeker, Ned. Tyds. Dierk., vol. 4, 1873 (1874), p. 125 (reference).

Parapegasus natans Reeves, Journ. Pan Pac. Res. Inst., vol. 2, No. 3, July-September 1927, p. 7 (name).---Chu Biol. Bull. St. John's Univ., No. 1, January 1931, p. 99 (reference).

Tail without caudal long as or longer than body, with 12 rings, tapering and well flattened behind. Snout 218 to 2 1/5 to vent, with 6 to 8 longi- tudinal ridges above. Dorsal 5; Anal 5; pectoral 11; ventral 3. Clay colour to tawny olive above, with 5 dusky obscurely defined transverse bands, first at nape, second above vent and others on tail. Dorsal, pectoral and caudal all finely dotted with dusky above. Below uniform pale to whitish. Length 95 mm.

China (East Indies*, Formosa*, North Australia).

Parapegasus volans (Linnaeus).

Pegasus volans Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, pt. 1, 1758, p. 338. Amboina. Günther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., vol. 8, 1870, p. 148 (China).— Bleeker, Ned. Tyds. Dierk., vol. 4, 1873 (1874), p. 125 (name).—Chu, Biol. Bull. St. John's Univ., No. 1, January 1931, p. 99 (reference).

Pegasus volitans Reeves, Journ. Pan Pac. Res. Inst., vol. 2, No. 3, July-September 1927, p. 7 (name).

Pegasus laternarius Richardson, Ichth. China and Japan, 1846, p. 202 (Sea of China).-Kaup, Cat. Lophobr. Fish Brit. Mus., 1856, p. 3, pl. 1, fig. 4 (China Sea).-Duméril, Hist. Nat. Poiss., vol. 2, 1870, p. 491, pl. 26, figs. 1, a-b (China; Macao).

Back of trunk with 2 median ridges, each with 3 compressed and more or less trenchant longitudinal tubercles; no groove behind head. Tail with 11 rings, long as trunk, second, third and fourth rings with spine. directed backwards in middle of side. Snout sometimes short, pointed, with or without minute spine, sometimes with 5 or 6 ridged extensions, each ridge finely denticulated. Dorsal 5; Anal 5; pectoral 10; ventral 2. Usually 2 broad brownish bands across tail, posterior some dsistance from caudal base. Pectoral rays with brown spots.

China, Macao (India, East Indies). Reaches 50 mm.

The Hong Kong Naturalist.