18 Dr. Richardson's Contributions to 



Dimensions. inches, lines. 



Length from intermaxillary symphysis to extremity of caudal . 6 



base of caudal 4 9^ 



anal fin 3 4 



first dorsal 2 3 



• tip of gill-flap 1 U\ 



edge of orbit b^ 



Diameter of orbit 5^ 



Length of second spine of first dorsal 8 



rays of soft dorsal 1 



rays of anal 10 



pectorals : 1 1 



ventrals 1 



Height of body 1 8 



Thickness at gill-cover and nape 9 



Length of caudal fin 1 2\ 



Serranus lepidopterus (Nob.), Butterfly-barber. 



" Perca lepidoptera, J. R. Forsteri, MSS.," Schn. 

 Epinephelus lepidopterus, Bl. Schn., p. 302. 



A drawing of a Serranus nearly related to S, rasor (Zool. 

 Proceed., vol. ii.), made by a convict artist at Port Arthur, Van 

 Diemen^s Land, under the inspection of Dr. Lhotsky, exhibits 

 all the characters of the New Zealand fish described in Schnei- 

 der's edition of Bloch under the appellation of Epinephelus 

 lepidopterus, except that there is some discrepancy in the 

 numbers of the fin-rays. 



The colour of the parts above the lateral line is clove -brown, which 

 lower down gradually softens into brownish-red, and towards the 

 belly changes to a dilute roseate tint. The scales forming the lateral 

 line are truncated and smaller than the others, and have a rich um- 

 ber-brown colour. Below the line the sides are thickly dotted to 

 about half-way down with small irregular umber- brown spots, of dif- 

 ferent degrees of intensity. Under the posterior third of the soft dor- 

 sal, about the middle of the height, there is a large rectangular brown- 

 ish-black mark. The top of the head and upper part of the opercu- 

 lum are tinted with clove-brown, approaching to lead-gray ; there is 

 a pale orange-brown bar crossing the preorbitar to the anterior angle 

 of the eye, and the membranous parts about the mouth have a sky- 

 blue hue. There are some dark shades on the preoperculum, and a 

 patch of orange-brown on the interoperculum. The dorsal fin is 

 coloured with a mixture of more red than the adjoining part of the 

 back ; the caudal is scarlet, with a tinge of orange-brown at the base 

 and along the edge of the forked membrane. The pectorals, ventrals 

 and anal are rose-red, the rays being more deeply coloured than the 

 membrane, and there are a few very pale reddish-browji spots on the 

 pectoral. -^- 



A curved canine tooth is represented on the middle of each limb 

 of the lower jaw, and the maxillary is densely scaly, as well as the 

 snout, cheeks, and all the opercular pieces. The preoperculum has 

 a rectangular form, with the angle rounded, and the whole margin is 



