SPARTD^E. 39 



becoming of a rose-red on the sides and nearly silvery- white beneath. Fins rose- 

 colour, paler than the body. Parnell states it to have a dark violet spot at the 

 base of the upper part of the pectoral fin, which is not visible in his specimen from 

 which I took my figure. Yarrell observes that this mark is most conspicuous in 

 the larger and older specimens. 



Yarrell appears to have rather confused these species, doubtless from the 

 difficulty in those days of obtaining examples for comparison ; and though he 

 figures Pagellus erythrinus, from Cuv. and Val.'s work, his description of the species 

 was drawn up from British specimens subsequently received, and they pertained 

 to this form as seen in his vignette of the teething, where the molars in the upper 

 jaw are given in 3 regular rows, whereas when 3 rows exist in P. erythrinus they 

 are irregular ; also the the last two dorsal and anal rays being enveloped in a 

 scaled covering certainly cannot refer to P. erythrinus. He subsequently figured 

 and again described this fish as P. acartie. Four of his specimens are in the 

 British Museum. Couch likewise give P. acarne, which, however, refers to 

 P. bogaraveo, and he does not describe the P. Oivenii at all. 



This appears to be the fish described by Pennant, who omits all allusion to it 

 possessing a black shoulder spot, as seen in Pagellus centrodontus, and expressly 

 notices the existence of a ferruginous spot at the base of the pectoral fin. He 

 also states that " what is peculiar to his species is that the skin at the end of the 

 dorsal and anal fins is gathered up and hides the last rays," which appearance 

 does not exist in P. centrodontus, with which Pennant's fish has been classed, but 

 does in the rarer British forms of P. Owenii and P. acarne. Couch's Spanish bream 

 would appear to be P. bogaraveo and not P. acarne, with which he has identified 

 it, if we are to judge by his figure of the length and size of the head and the form 

 of the preorbital bone. 



In Cuv. and Val. a Pagellus breviceps, vi, p. 199, is briefly described from the 

 Mediterranean, with an obtuse snout and the profile of the back more rounded 

 than in the other forms : it may be this species. 



Names. Axillary bream. 



Habits. This fish does not appear to have met with much attention, having 

 probably been mixed up with other better known forms of Pagellus : the only 

 examples I have seen have been those in the National Collection. 



Parnell observes that his description is taken from a specimen captured in the 

 Frith of Forth in a salmon-net near Musselburgh in the early part of July. A 

 second example was taken a few days subsequently. 



Habitat. As far as has been recorded this species has merely been captured 

 off the British coast, in the Frith of Forth, Devonshire, and Cornwall. The 

 example figured was a stuffed specimen, 13^ inches in length, from Dr. Parnell 's 

 collection. This fish attains at least 14 inches in length. 



4. Pagellus acarne, Plate XVI. 



Acamane, Rondel, v, c. 20, p. 151, c. fig. ; Duhamel, Peehes, ii, Sect, iv, c. 2, 

 p. 32. 



Sparus berda, Risso, Ich. Nice, p. 252. 



Pagrus acarne, Risso, Eur. Merid. iii, p. 361. 



Pagellus acarne, Cuv. and Val. vi, p. 191 ; Cuv. Regne Anim. 111. Poiss. pi. 

 xxxv, f. i. ; Guichen. Ex. Sc. Alger. Poiss. p. 51 ; Giinther, Catal. i, p. 480 ; 

 Steind. Ich. Spanien und Port. 1867, p. 60. 



B. vi, D. ^Jhr, P- 17, V. 1/5, A. T \, C. 17, L. 1. 70-72, L. tr. 5/13, Vert. 22. 



Length of head 3} to 3f, of caudal fin 5-f, height of body 3| in the total length. 

 Eye 4 diameters in the length of the head, 1^ diameters from the end of the 

 snout and nearly 1 apart. Preorbital narrowest posterior]}^ destitute of any notch, 

 while its greatest height equals 1^ in its length. Opercle rather more than twice 

 as high as wide. Jaws of equal length anteriorly, the maxilla reaches posteriorly 

 to nearly beneath the front edge of the eye. Teeth anteriorly villiform, with the 

 outer row somewhat enlarged, the lateral rounded teeth form two rows in either 



