ACANTHOPTERYGII. 307 



tremity beyond the edges of the membrane. These different 

 characters are also to be met with in the family of the sciaense. 



With a new genus from Australia (Macquaria), of the 

 habits of which nothing is known, the Baron concludes that 

 the genus sciama, according to Linnaeus' conception of it, 

 should terminate. The subsequent genera form a more se- 

 parate group, which might, under many points of view, be 

 even considered as another family. Their head has no ca- 

 vernous inflations; their natatory bladder never presents 

 appendages; their body is generally short, and of an oval 

 form, but, like the true sciaenoi'des, they have some armature 

 to the opercular pieces, and some appendages to the pylorus, 

 and they are destitute of teeth to the palate. This deter- 

 mined the Baron to approximate them as an appendix to this 

 family. 



The near relationship of these fish cannot be mistaken : 

 some attention is necessary to detect their differences, while 

 their resemblance strikes one at the first glance. Never- 

 theless, authors have dispersed them into genera widely dif- 

 ferent. Their amphiprion has been associated to holocen- 

 trum ; premnas to chatodon, to serranus, to scorpcena ; poma- 

 centrns and glyphisodon to chatodon, although possessing 

 nothing of the character. 



It might be rather among the labroides that one might find 

 some analogies to these divers genera, for many labroides have 

 also the lateral line interrupted, and all have the palate with- 

 out teeth ; nevertheless many external differences, slight it is 

 true, and especially this important circumstance, that none of 

 the labroides have ccEcal appendages to the pylorus, nor even 

 a stomach like a cul-de-sac, do not permit us to adopt this 

 approximation. 



All these fish are small, and, with few exceptions, live in 

 the Indian Ocean, the shores of which they embellish by the 

 splendid colours reflected by most of their species. They are 



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