Zoological Society. 451 



from His Excellency Sir John Franklin, K.C.B., Lieutenant Govern- 

 or, and now deposited in the museum of the Royal Naval Hospital 

 at Haslar. The collection contains about thirty species, and the 

 paper, which embraces only a part, gives detailed descriptions and 

 anatomical notices of these, several of them being also illustrated 

 by very elaborate drawings, executed by Mr. Charles M. Curtis with 

 his wonted fidelity. The following species are included in the pre- 

 sent paper, the others being reserved for a future communication. 



1. Serrants Rasor. Ser. maxillis valde squamosis, apicibus ra- 

 diorum pectoralium fasciculatis, compress is, lanceolatis ; pinnis 

 omnibus prater ventrales squamosis ; radiis aculeatis pinna dor si 

 subcequalibus ; fascia oculum cingenli caruled per lineam latera- 

 lem productd. 



Radii:— -Br. 7-7 ; P. 13; V. 1,5; D. 10, 21 ; A. 3, 9 ; C. 15*. 



The Serranus Rasor, or Tasmanian barber, is a beautiful fish belong- 

 ing to that group of Serrani which was named Anthias by Bloch, 

 none of which had previously been described as inhabitants of the 

 Australian seas. It agrees with the barber-fish of the Caribbean 

 seas in having no elongated dorsal rays, and may be distinguished 

 readily from all the known Serrani by the peculiar form of its pec- 

 toral rays, whose numerous branchlets are so graduated and closely 

 approximated as to give a flat lanceolate shape to the tip of each 

 ray. The general colour of the fish is reddish brown, with umber- 

 brown spots, a dark patch beneath the end of the pectorals, a bright 

 blue stripe crossing the anterior suborbitar, encircling the eye, and 

 running along the lateral line to the caudal fin. There are also 

 thirteen or fourteen narrower blue streaks on the lower part of the 

 flanks and tail. The fins are lake-red, and are all, except the ven- 

 trals. more or less scaly. 



2. Centropristis Salar. Cent, operculo suboperculoque squa- 

 mosis ; interoperculo seminudo ; preoperculo subdenticulato ; 

 pinnis dorsi unique in fossis receptis. 



Radii:— Ry. 7 — 7; P. 16; D. 9, 16; V. 1,5; A. 3, 10; C. 17f. 



This species is known locally as the salmon, and differs from 

 C. truttaceus, as described in the Histoire des Poissons, in the distri- 

 bution of the scales on the gill-covers, and in some other minute 

 particulars. Truttaceus is said to have the interoperculum and sub- 

 operculum entirely naked, and only a few scales on the operculum 

 itself (" quelques ecailles sur sa surface"). In C. salar there are 

 five rows of pretty large scales on the operculum, one row on the 

 suboperculum, covering surfaces of both these bones, and a row of 

 smaller scales on the interoperculum, clothing its upper half only. 



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