Art. XXVI.—Notes on New Zealand Fishes. By Sir James Hector, F.R.S. [Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 11th February, 1902.] Plates XIV. and XV. 1. Chimæra monstrosa, var. australis. This remarkable fish is related to the sharks and the rays or skates, but is quite distinct from either of these groups. Only two generic forms are known—(1) Chimæra, which abounds in the Arctic seas; and (2) Callorhynchus, which, so far as known, is confined to the Antarctic seas. In the northern seas this fish is known as the “king of the herrings,” also as the “rabbit-fish.” Its southern representative is popularly known as the “elephant-fish,” on account of the proboscis-like appendage to its upper jaw. A few specimens of the northern genus Chimæra have been found off the Cape of Good Hope and off the coast of Chile, but so far as I know this is the first New Zealand example of the genus which has been found. It was obtained by the trawl on the Wairau bar, and presented to the Museum by Mr. Fernandos, of this city. The specimen is a female, both oviducts containing eggs in various stages of development. It is somewhat curious that the first specimen obtained in New Zealand should be a female, as the male fish is far more abundantly caught in the Northern Hemisphere than the female. In the case of the southern representative, or the elephant-fish, on the other hand, most of the specimens caught are females, and they are quite common at certain seasons. However, a few days after I obtained the female of the Chimæra a male elephant-fish was brought to the Museum, being the first of the sex I had ever seen. It has wonderful grippers armed with strong teeth on the forehead, and on each side of the body near the ventral fin, and has two extra lateral ventral fins involuted so as to form intromittent organs. The following are the measurements of the female specimen of Chimæra monstrosa, var. australis:— Inches. Total length 36 Greatest height 4 Snout to eye 2.5 Orbit 1.5 Snout to dorsal spine 6 Height of spine 3 Base of 1st dorsal 3.5