THE FISHES OF MALABAE. 253 



Order.-P LECTOGNATHI. 



Sub-Oeder.-OSTRACIONID;E. 



Fam. OSTRACIONOIDEI, Bleeher. 



Genus OSTRACION, Linn. 



L.ETOPHRYS, et tetkosomus, Swainson. 

 Acanthostracion, BleeJcer. 



Branchioste-als, si,. Body shortened and angular, invested by a solid covering composed of fibre- 

 osseou af^ Pla es placed I juxtaposition, leaving holes for the mouth, eyes, gdl openmgs dorsal 

 Inland Caudal L. Each jaw with from ten to twelve conical teeth ; the maxnl, and mtermaxdl* are 



2 LMZ with the sides of the ventral keel posteriorly armed with spines : 3. Tetrosomus, preorb, a 

 pine toe ted upwards, and ventral keel spinate, or armed posteriorly by a strong spme; m som e the 

 Tt rtr uperi r extr mity of the carapace transformed into a strong spine: 4 AcantUstranon, preorbiM 

 SnSd forwards. Ventral keel posteriorly armed with a strong spne : m some the dorsal keel . 

 also armed with a strong spine, in others the spines (except the anal) are absent. 



OSTRACION NASUS. 



Ostracion nasus, Block, t. 138 ; BleeJcer, Atl. Ich. v. p. 36 t 202, f. 5. 

 Osteacium tesserula, Cantor, Catal. p. 367, pi. m £ 2, 3, ^nature.) 



R ' D 9 P 10 A 9 C. 8. L. 1. 12. L. tr. 5. 



LeTgth of head f , of pectoral h of caudal f of the total length. Height of head h of body 

 above 1 °of dorsal 1, of anal 1 of the total length. 



^^-Notfar from profile: diameter J of the length of the head, 1 dieter from end of 



"Body tetragonal, the back elongated, forming rather a long oval, and slightly convex, owing 

 to its havL a raised longitudinal crest, which is most prominent near to the base of he dorsal fin 

 The larTerse diameter Loss the back is rather more than the height of the body, the abdommal 

 surface is slightly broader. The vertical diameter of the sides is concave much more so m the 

 very voung, as eight-tenths of an inch in length, than in another twice that length ; also there * a 

 IZZ groove along either side of the mesial crest of the body between * and the supenor 



later Te r eth-In the Cochin specimens only eight in each jaw; sharp, rather distant, red and 

 gleaming: some are probably absent, as there should be twelve in the upper and ten m the 

 lower jaw. 



fZ-£ dorsal is situated in the posterior sixth of the back the anal rather behind it. 

 Caudal rather broad and rounded at its extremity. Pectoral broad and fan-shaped. All the rays 

 are unbranched. 



