FAMILY, I— PERCID^. 79 



B. vi, D. W-U, P- 19, V. 1/5, A. f, C. 17, L. 1. 59, L. r. ff, L. tr. 13/24. 



Length of head about 1/4, of caudal 1/6, height of body from 4/13 to 2/7 of the total length. Eyes- 

 diameter fi-om 1/3 to 2/7 of length of head, 1 diameter from end of snout, and nearly 1 apart. Dorsal profile 

 much more convex than that of the abdomen, profile of head paraboUc. The masiUa reaches to below the 

 front third of the orbit. The depth of the preorbital nearly equals the diameter of the eye. Vertical limb of 

 preopercle very slightly emarginate, its angle rounded, and the whole finely and evenly serrated. Teeth — fine. 

 Pins —dorsal spines strong, every alternate one broadest on one side, they increase in height to the fourth, 

 which equals two-fifths or one-third of that of the body, the last being about one-fifth shorter, soft portion of 

 the fin gradually increasing in height, its middle third being higher than the spinous. Pectoral as long as the 

 head without the snout : ventral reaching three-fourths of the distance to the anal, the second spine of which 

 latter fin is stronger and slightly longer than the third, equalling the length of the head behind the middle of 

 the orbit : caudal rounded, or cut rather square. Colours — D. lineatum, yellowish-white superiorly, becoming 

 white alono- the sides and on the abdomen : about six chestnut-coloured bands, the upper being wider than the 

 gi-ound colour, extend from the head along the body, the two first below the soft dorsal fin, coalescing and 

 being continued along its centre as far as its termination in a wedge-shaped form : the third passes through 

 the upper thu'd of the eye along the side to a little above the centre of the caudal fin, and in its course 

 touches the lower edge of the soft dorsal : the fourth arises by one or two roots below the eye, and goes to 

 the lower third of the caudal, and joining vrith the last band, is continued in a pointed manner to its 

 termination : the fifth proceeds from the angle of the mouth to the lower edge of the base of the caudal, and 

 the sixth from below it to the lower edge of the soft portion of the anal : fins yellow, with sometimes one or 

 more dark blotches : dorsal with a dark edge, which may be confined to its soft portion : three oblique bands 

 across either caudal lobe, which are occasionally broken up into blotches : a band along the middle of the 

 anal fin. 



Variety. — Diagramma alhovittatitm, silvery-white above, becoming yellowish- white below, a dark chestnut 

 median band commences on the occiput opposite the middle of the eye, and goes to the anterior dorsal spine, 

 being contmued first along the bases of the spines, but attaining their middle posteriorly, it joins the 

 second band: the second chestnut band commences on the snout and passes above the eye, and gradually 

 increasing in width posteriorly, arrives at the base of the soft dorsal, and is continued along its middle as 

 far as its termination in a wedge-shaped form : the third baud, which may be considered the coalescence of 

 the two in D. lineatum, extends from the snout through the eye, becomes the widest, and arriving at th& 

 centre of the base of the tail, diminishes in width, and is continued in a wedge-shape to the termination of 

 the fin. Fins yellow, a narrow dark edge to the spinous dorsal, which increases in width over the soft portion : 

 two oblique dark bands across the upper caudal lobe and one along the lower : a darkish edge to ventrals, 

 and the outer half of anal with a dai'k band. 



In some specimens a wide chestnut coloured band appears to extend from below the eye, covering the 

 abdomen, and leaving only a very nari-ow interspace of whitish ground colour between it and the band 

 immediately above it; in such specimens the colour of the body appears to be chestnut, with three narrow 

 white or light longitudinal bands. It must, however, be evident that other points being identical, this form 

 is merely the D. lineatum* with three instead of six longitudinal body bands, which, due to their decrease in 

 number, show an increase in width. 



Bleeker (Revis. Fleeter, p. 282) observes that alhmittatum has no dark border to the spinous dorsal, 

 nor spots on the paired fins, whilst the dorsal spines are of about equal length. A frontal profile little or 

 not at all convex, L. r. f|. The specimen I have figured has L. r. |-f, and appears to so connect the two 

 species that it is difficult to say to which it belongs, the colours and form of the spinous dorsal being such as 

 refers it more to lineatum than albovittatum, but the number of scales, absence of spots on the paired fins, and 

 a black edge to the spinous dorsal, being such as have been pointed out as characteristic of alhovittatmn. 



In tiie Catalogue of Fishes of the British Museum, i, p. 330, Bodian Cuvier, Bennett Fish. Ceylon, p. 13, 

 fig. 13 is referred to Diagramma lineatum.-^ In the "Fishes of Zanzibar," p. 28, under the head of Diagramma 

 Cuvier i, is Seba, iii, 27, 19, Bodian Cuvier, Bennett, and Diagramma Seba, Bleeker, whilst D. Lessonii 

 (I. c.) is recorded as a distinct species. In the " Fische d. Sudsee," p. 28, the synonyms for D. Lessonii are 

 D. seba, Bleeker, but Bennett's fish is not referred to. Bleeker in his revision of these fishes (pp. 288-9) 

 observes that Lessonii is very near lineatus, and may represent its adult age, the formula of the scales and 

 rays being identical. 



Tm-ning to Bleeker's figure of D. Sebre, = D. Lessonii, Giinther, the anterior dorsal spines in the former 

 appear to be more elevated. If the two longitudinal bands from the eye m the figure refen'ed to_ were 

 amalgamated, and the fin marks reduced to blotches or spots so frequently the case in large specimens, 



* lOnnzinger (Verb. z. b. Ges. Wien. 1870, p. 736) observes that D. BlocUi differs from D. alhovittatum in having 10 dorsal 

 spine3, &c., and places D. Kneatimi (1. c. p. 735) as a variety of D. pwnctatum. 



f It is also a subject worthy of consideration whether Plectorhyiichus polytmnia = P. polytcsnioides, Bleeker, L. r. yy, is 

 not identical with P. Ooldmani, = P. Iwimatochir, L. 1. VV", the former having a bluish instead of a yellowish-white ground colour, 

 and the bands being light brown instead of darlc chestnut, whilst the deficiency of colouring matter accounts for the absence of spots 

 on the fins of the former but present in the latter. The colouring of P. GolJmani again approaches very nearly that of P. or 

 IHagramma Seba, Bleeker, L. 1. W") which, as observed, is considered by Dr. Gunther as identical with D. Lessonii, which is a variety 

 of D. Imeatum. 



