26 FISHES OF AUSTRALIA. 



The cleft of the mouth is wide, obliquely set, and is armed 

 with a closely-set row of sharp, conical teeth. Two short 

 barbels depend from the lower jaw. The Barramundi 

 occurs in several of the inter-tropical rivers of Queensland, 

 which debouch on the Barrier coastline. The majority of 



Fig. 8. BARRAMUNDI (Scleropages leicMiardti). 



the scales, when fresh, are ornamented with one, or, at most, 

 two red spots. 



In connection with the geographical distribution of these 

 Osteoglossids as a family, it is a very interesting fact that 

 it coincides very closely with that of those very ancient 

 forms the Lung-fishes. 



THE DORAB. 



( Family : Chirocentrides. ) 



THE gigantic herring known as the Dorab (Chirocentrus 

 dorab) is the sole member of this family of fishes. It 

 abounds principally in tropical seas, but has been taken on 



Fig. 9. DORAB (Chirocentrus dorab). 



the coast of New South Wales. In the tropics, this species 

 ranges from the Red Sea to the Malay Archipelago and 

 the seas of China and Japan. It is really quite a formid- 



