14 THE FISHES OF MALABAR. 



Mesoprion aurolineatus. Plate III. 

 Mesoprion aurolineatus, Cuv. § Veil. iii. p. 496. 



B. vii. D. T }? Ti . P. 16. V. -J. A. f. C. 17. L. 1. 46. L. tr. T 7 B . 



Length of head ^, of pectoral § , of caudal J, of base of dorsal \, of base of anal \ of total 

 length. Height of head \, of body ^, of hard dorsal \, of soft dorsal \, of ventral J, of anal \ of 

 total length. 



Eyes — Situated close to the margin of profile : its diameter f in length of head, upwards of 

 1 diameter from end of snout, ^ a diameter apart. 



Maxilla extends to beneath the anterior margin of the orbit : openings of nostrils wide 

 apart opposite its upper fourth. Preorbital entire. Preopercle, vertical limb very slightly 

 eniarginate, finely serrated, angle rounded where the serratures become coarser, but they diminish 

 in size as they approach the anterior end of the lower limb, which is slightly oblique. Sub- and 

 interopercles entire. Opercle with two points. Suprascapular denticulated. 



Teeth — An external row of conical teeth in both jaws, with several villiform rows behind : 

 each intermaxillary crowded with villiform teeth and having two canines, the external of which 

 is cui'ved and very large in comparison to the size of the fish. 



Fins — First dorsal spine half the length of the second, which is one-tenth shorter than the 

 third, whilst the fourth is slightly the longest, from thence they very gradually decrease to the last, 

 they are all rather strong. Ventral spine weak. Anal, second spine much the longest and 

 strongest. Pectoral pointed. Soft portions of dorsal and anal rounded. Caudal slightly emarginate. 

 Ventral pointed, first ray prolonged. 



Scales — Above the lateral bne they pass in an ascending backward series of rows to the 

 base of the dorsal, beyond the end of that fin they proceed parallel to the back : below the lateral 

 line the first four rows pass horizontally, and terminate in it, whilst the next five or six pass direct 

 to the caudal. 



Lateral line — Is situated in the upper third of the body parallel to the back. 



Colours — Back olive shot with yellow : abdomen yellow with several brilliant, horizontal, 

 golden lines, which are divided by a darker one running along the centre of each row of scales, 

 so that each golden one is on part of two rows. A large black finger mark is situated on the 

 lateral line from the twenty-second to the thirty-first scales, extending for three scales below and 

 one and a hah' above it. Dorsal and pectoral olive. Caudal and anal olive yellow. Ventrals 

 golden. Iris golden. 



Very rare, has not been taken of a large size. 



Habitat — Malabar and Ceylon ; in Sir Emerson Tennent's drawings of the "Fishes of 

 Ceylon," already referred to, is one a2)parently of this species marked " Taloorvah." 



* Mesoprion Madras. 

 Mesoprion Madras, Cuv. $ Vol. vii. p. 446 ; Giinther, Catcil. i. p. 200. 



B. vii. D. \%. A. f. L. 1. 55-60. 



Length of head f of total length. Height of body ^ of total length. Diameter of eye f of 

 length of head. Preopercle finely serrated not emarginate. Interopercle entirely covered with 

 scales. Spines of dorsal and anal fins rather feeble, fourth dorsal spine longest. Caudal truncated. 



Colours — Yellowish red, with reddish brown longitudinal streaks, cheeks reddish, fins yellow. 



Attains one foot in length at Mahe, and is good eating. 



Habitat — Malabar, Batavia, and the Seychelles. 



