Zoology.'] NATURAL HISTORY OF VICTORIA. {Fishes. 



lower beak to end of upper lobe of caudal ; depth at base of pectoral equal to depth 

 in front of dorsal and anal fins; depth of tail between last finlet and caudal, 4^ times 

 in greatest depth at middle of body; beak nearly straight, very slender; beak of 

 lower jaw from angle of commissure less than the rest of the head to edge of oper- 

 culum, broader tban deep, tip soft and flexible, 7^ times in total length to tip of 

 caudal ; upper beak more slender than, and fitting in a groove in, the lower one, of 

 which it is f- the length ; sub-orbital plate sub-quadrate, with a shallow sinus in the 

 oblique front edge; a small, deep, narrow notch below the nostril, and produced 

 backwards in a narrow posterior angle as far as first third of diameter of eye. 

 Base of ventral half way between base of caudal and anterior margin of orbit; 

 diameter of eye about 2§ in post-orbital portion of head. Diameter of e} T e about 5 

 times in length of cheek from end of gape to edge of operculum, a slight mucous 

 swelling in front, with a row of mucous pores; another row of pores along lower 

 edge of preoperculum, and another row from top of orbit to the shoulder. Lower 

 jaws, and also the edges of the opercular plates, nearly touching under the throat, 

 from the narrowness of the isthmus; branchiostegal membrane lad under the oper- 

 cular plates. Six finlets above and seven below, the anterior one slightly smaller 

 than the second, and connected by membrane with the dorsal and anal fins; the 

 row of keeled scales along belly ends at fourth lower finlet. Color : Dark blue on 

 back, with slight greenish reflections; sides, belly, opercular plates, and cheeks 

 below the eye brilliant silvery- white; caudal fin and upper finlets blue; other 

 fins paler. Iris silvery. Measurements : Total length from tip of beak to 

 lower lobe of caudal, 12 to 15 inches. Proportional measurements to 12 ins. as 

 100: Tip of lower beak to tip of upper one, T § 7 ; to gape, tuts') t0 front edge of 

 orbit, -j^ ; to hind edge of orbit, t 2 q°o ; to upper base of pectoral, or end of oper- 

 culum, yVo ; to base of ventrals, tv% > to Dase °f anal, T y^- ; greatest depth of 

 body, t §q-; greatest thickness of body, T f o ; length of pectorals, xfo; length of 

 ventrals, T §(j- ; length of upper lobe of caudal, TU q ; length of lower lobe of caudal, 

 i§tf ; length of middle rays of caudal, yf-g-. Seven scales in a length of ^ in. at 

 middle of body ; 12 keeled scales in same length at middle of abdominal row. 



Reference. — Esox saurus, Bloch & Schn., p. 39-1, t. 78 = Scomberesox 

 Camperi, Lacep., v. p. 345 ; Cuv. & Val. Hist. Nat. des Poissons, v. xviii., p. 464, 

 t. 551 ? =. Scomberesox Forsteri, Cuv. & Val., v. xviii., p. 481. 



The upper beak is longer in proportion to the lower than in the 

 S. Camperi, in which it is represented by Cuvier and Valenciennes 

 to be only three-fourths of the length of the lower ; but I, unfor- 

 tunately, have no European specimen to make sure of this character 

 or of the size of the scales, which, Dr. G-unther thinks, may distin- 

 guish the northern species, but he does not give the size for the S. 

 saurus or Camperi of Northern waters, as I do here for the Aus- 

 tralian fish. The sub-orbital plate in front of and below the nostril 

 is smaller, more upright, and with a more distinct sinus in the front 

 margin than in the S. Camperi, as figured and described by Cuvier 

 and Valenciennes, the front margin being less oblique, but, like it, 

 has a deep, narrow, vertical slit below the nostril. 



Vol. II— Decade XIV.— u. 135 [ 



