head, cutting the profile. Interorbital space half diameter of eye, with a slight ridge mesially. Nostrils nearer tip of snout than eye, with a very low tube.

Mouth oblique, reaching backward beyond the posterior border of the eye, upper jaw slightly the longer, lower jaw extremely thin and weak.

Maxilla reaching somewhat beyond the posterior margin of eye, very thin and scaleless.

Minute, slightly hooked villiform teeth present in both jaws in a single series, and a small cluster still more minute on the vomer. Tongue free, elongate, pointed.

Gills four; gill-rakers nine approximately on lower half of the anterior limb.

Body sub-cylindrical, elongate, becoming compressed towards the caudal, the dorsal and ventral surfaces subequal, gradually tapering towards the peduncle, covered with small cycloid scales which extend forward to the interorbital. Lateral line, commencing at upper angle of operculum, descends abruptly behind the pectoral, and thence follows an almost straight course to end of peduncle; it is situated very low on the body, about quarter the distance from the anal base, well defined as a continuous series of small triangular spines directed forward.

Dorsal fin with its origin at the vertical from the third anal ray, composed entirely of simple articulated rays. Anal in every way similar to the dorsal, but the rays are somewhat shorter and greater in number. Caudal and pectoral similar in form to the dorsal and anal.

Colour.—Body pale golden brown, with a continuous series of dark brown blotches extending along top of back as far as end of peduncle. A smaller and more crowded series of blotches extends from top of operculum all along the middle line of body, and there are two conspicuous dark brown bands, narrowly joined in the centre, at the base of caudal.

The lateral line is slightly lighter than the body colour. Head with a dark mottled patch on the nape, and mottled brownish before the eyes and on snout. A blackish margin at the apex of both jaws. Operculum pale bluish and transparent. Eye mottled, the pupil blue-black. All fins immaculate.

Described and figured from a specimen which is 57 mm. long from tip of snout to end of caudal peduncle. Height of body 7 mm.; length of head 10 mm.

Since describing this specimen I have obtained another from Parengarenga, captured by the Museum collecting party while dredging at the entrance to Parengarenga Harbour on sandy bottom, February, 1932, and a third specimen was dredged about 1000 yards off Mount Maunganui, Ocean Beach, in the Bay of Plenty, from a clean, coarse, sandy bottom in March by Mr A. W. B. Powell. A critical examination of the three discloses no difference whatever, even the measurements are identical.