FAMILY, I— PERCID^. 25 



Habitat.— Red Sea, East coast of Africa, seas of India to tlie Malay Arcliipelago, China, Australia, and 

 beyond. The specimen figured is 9 inches in length. 



28. Serranus leopardus, Plate VI, fig. 4. 



Lahrus leopardus, Lacep. iii, p. 517, t. 30, f. 1. 



Serranus leopardus, Cuv. and Val. ii, p. 33G ; Giinther, Catal. i, p. 123 and Fische d. Sudsee, p. 4, t. 3, 

 f. B. (excl. synonym, pt.) 



Serranus spilurus, Cuv. and Val. vi, p. 433 ; Bleeker, Flores, p. 322. 



Serranus Homfrayi, Day, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1870, p. 678. 



Epinephelus zanana, Bleeker, Atl. Ich. Pero. t. x, fig. 2. 



Epinephel'us leopardus, Bleeker, Epinephelini, p. 61. 



B. vii, D. , 3?TT, P. 17, V. 1/5, A. 3^, C. 17, L. r. (if )|J-, L. tr. 10/26. 



Length of head 2/7, of caudal 1/6, height of body 1/3 of the total length. Eyes — high up, diameter 

 largest in the immature, fi-om 1/5 to 1/6 of the length of the head in the adult, from 1 to 1 j diameters from end 

 of snout in the adult and nearly 1 apart. The maxQla reaches to below the hind edge of the orbit. Vertical 

 limb of preopercle rounded and very finely serrated ; the serrations extending along its angle but not to the 

 lower limb : interopercle usually with a few fine serrations along its posterior half Teeth — canines in both jaws, 

 the outer row in the maxilla, and the inner in mandible larger than the villiform bands. Fins — dorsal spines 

 strong, the fifth the longest but not equalling the length of the rays : soft dorsal and anal rounded : pectoral as 

 lono- as the head exclusive of the snout : second anal spine the strongest and slightly the longest : caudal 

 rounded. Scales — rather strongly ctenoid on the body, 8 rows between the lateral-line and the sixth dorsal 

 spine, they cover the snout, preorbital and suborbital ring of bones and the posterior half of the maxilla. A 

 badly marked line, very similar to the lateral-line, passes along the scales near the bases of the dorsal and anal 

 fins. Colours — vary, red or yellow predominating. The body may be whitish covered with round or oval red 

 spots which are extended over the dorsal, anal, and caudal fins. A dark band passes from the eye to above the 

 upper opercular spine behind which it terminates in a black spot : one or two black bands with or without a 

 white edgmg may be present over the free portion of the tail : caudal with a white or blue spot at either of its 

 outer angles, and a triangular black band across its last third. This baud may be broken up into an oblique 

 mark across either side of the tail, or may even be seen quite white as in the lower one of the figm-e. 



Habitat. — From the Red Sea thi-ough those of India to China ; the one figured life size, was taken at 

 the Andaman Islands. 



29. Serranus Sonnerati, Plate VII, fig. 1. 

 Perca rubra, Sonnerat. 



Serranus Sonnerati, Cuv. and Val. Li, p. 299 ; Giinther, Catal. i, p. 122 ; Playfair, Fish. Zanz. p. 3, (exc. 

 pi. iii, fig. 1.) 



Serranus pachycentron, Cuv. and Val. ii, p. 295. 



Serranus erythrxus, Cuv. and Val. vi, p. 516 ; Giinther, Catal. i, p. 116 ; Playfaii-, Fish. Zanz. p. 2, pi. i, f 1. 



Serranus pachycentrum, Giinther, Catal. i, p. 116. 



Epinephelus nigripinnis, Bleeker, Atl. Ich. Perc. t. vi, f 2 ; and Epinephelini, p. 39 ; {? Serranus nigripinnis, 

 Cuv. and Val. ii, p. 339). 



Siggapu cullaivah, Tarn. 



B. vii, D. „'tt, P- 18-19, V. 1/5, A. ^?^, C. 17, Ca3c. pyl. 11-12, L. r. Hi'm, L- tr. 27/40. 



Length of head 3/10 to 2/7, of caudal, 2/13 to 1/7, height of body, 4/13 to 2/7 of the total length. 

 ■ Eyes — diameter 2/11 to 2/13 of the total length, 1^ to 1| diameters from the end of snout, and 3/4 of a diameter 

 apart. Profile from the snout to above the ej-es rather concave. The maxilla reaches to a slight distance 

 beyond the hind edge of the orbit. Vertical limb of preopercle sometimes slightly oblique above its angle, it is 

 very finely serrated in its whole extent : lower limb with irregular notches, and serrated, occasionally coarsely 

 so : sub- and inter-opercles finely serrated : the two upper opercular spines more developed than the lower. 

 Teeth — one or two well developed canines on either side of both jaws, largest in the lower : the outer row of teeth 

 in the maxilla and the inner in the mandibles larger than the villiform bands. Fins — dorsal spines moderately 

 strong, increasing in length to the third from whence they continue to very slightly augment in height to the 

 last which equals 2/7 of that of the body, the inter-spinous membrane is slightly emarginate and not lobed, the 

 rayed portion is about one-fourth higher than the spinous, it and the soft part of the anal rounded : pectoral as 

 long as the head beliind the front edge or middle of the eye, and rather longer than the ventral : second anal 

 spine the strongest but not quite so long as the third, wliich nearly equals the third of the dorsal : caudal 

 rounded. Scales — cycloid on the head, ctenoid on the body, fine ones are continued for some distance up the bases 

 of the soft dorsal, anal, and caudal fins : fine ones over the snout, sub-orbital and the anterior and lower portion 

 of the preorbital : the hind half of the maxilla sometimes has very fine ones, at other times it is destitute of any. 

 There are 14 or 15 rows of scales between the sixth dorsal spine and the lateral line at its highest point which 

 is below it. There exists a badly marked line, much similar to the lateral line, running along the scales near the 

 bases of the dorsal and anal fins. Colours — of a dull lake, with the head and to below the first half of the 

 spinous dorsal fin covered vrith a net-work of blue lines enclosing spots from one-sixth the diameter of the eye, 

 to spaces larger than it. Some indistinct spots over the whole of the body. Fins of rather darker colour than 

 the body, especially at their edges : caudal with some dull blue or white spots. 



