FAMILY, I—FERCIDJE. 87 



Scolopsis cancellatns, Gunther, Catal. i, p. 3G1, and Fische d. Sudsee, p. 30 ; Bleeker, Atl. leh. Perc. 

 t. xsxi, fig. 2, and Revis. Scolop. p. 355. 



Scolopsis Bleekeri, Bleeker, Atl. Ich. Perc. t. xvi, fig. 1, (not Giinther.) 



B. V, D. V", P- 15, V. 1/5, A. f, C. 17, L. 1. 44, L. tr. 31/14. 



Length of head 1/4, of caudal 2/9, height of body 1/4 of the total length. %es— diameter 2/5 of length 

 of head, 1/2 a diameter from end of snout, and 3/4 apart. Dorsal profile more convex than that of the abdomen. 

 Interorbital space flat. Scaleless portion of the head studded with fine open pores. The maxilla reaches to 

 below the front edge of the orbit. Preorbital spine of moderate length and strength, fluted and with one or 

 two denticulations along the inferior edge of the plate. Some serrations on the suborbital ring of bones. 

 Vertical limb of preopercle serrated, most coarsely so superiorly and at its slightly produced and rounded angle. 



Teeth fine. Fins — dorsal spines weak, increasing in length to the fifth which is more than half as long as the 



head : pectoral as long as the head behind the front edge of the orbit : second anal spine stronger but a little 

 shorter than the third"' which equals half the length of the head, Lateml-liiie — cui-ves to opposite the end of 

 the dorsal fin, from whence it proceeds direct to the centre of the caudal. Colours — grejash above and whitish 

 below the lateral-line : a white streak goes from the snout to the base of the first dorsal spine : a second from 

 over the orbit to the end of the base of the dorsal fin : a third fi'om the upper third of the eye to opposite tlie 

 end of the pectoral : a fourth from the middle of the eye to the upper third of the caudal. Several wide but 

 irregular vertical bands pass from the back to the middle of the body. A black spot between the first and third 

 dorsal spines in their lower half. Bleeker observes that the longitudinal bands are more distinct and regular in 

 the young than in the adult, whilst the black spot on the spinous dorsal usually disappears with age. 



Ettbitat. — Andamans, to the Malay Archipelago, and beyond. The specimen is figured life-size. 



7. Scolopsis Vosmeri, Plate XXIII, fig 1 (young) : 2 (semi-adult) : 3 (adult). 



Antliias Vosmeri, Bloch, t. 321. 



Anthias Vosmari, Bl. Schn. p. 304. 



Anthias Japonicus, Bloch, t. 325, f. 2 ; Bl. Schn. p. 307. 



Ferca aurata, Mungo Park, Trans. Linn. Soc. iii, p. 35. 



Lutjamis Japonicus, Lacep. iv, p. 31. 



hutjanus Vosmeri, Lacep. iv, p. 213. 



Lidjanus aureovittatus, Lacep. iv, p. 216. 



Pomacentrus e7meaclactijhi,s, Lacep. iv, pp. 505, 508. 



Liitjanus auratus, Bl. Schn. p. 328. 



Spurns hurite, Russell, Fish. Vizag. ii, p. 5, pi. lOG. 



Scolopisides hurite, Cuv. and Val. v, p. 331.* 



Scolopsis knrite, Riipp. Atl. Fische, p. 9, t. 2, f. 3. 



Scolopsis hate, Cuv. and Val. v, p. 329. 



Scolopsides BiqrpelUi, Cuv. and Val. v, p. 332t ; Richards. Ich. China, p. 236. 



Scolopsides vosmeri, Cuv. and Val. v, p. 333+ ; Bleek. Verb. Bat. Gen. xxiii, Sciajn. p. 27. 



Scolopsides torquatiis, Cuv. and Val. v, p. 335 ; Bleeker, 1. c. p. 28. 



Scolopsis torquatus, Gunther, Catal. i, p. 356 ; Kner, Novara, Fische, p. 59 ; Bleeker, Revis. Scolopsis, p. 3b3. 



Scolopsides aurata. Cantor, Catal. i, p. 81. 



Scolopsis Japonicus, Gunther, Catal. i, p. 354 ; Day, Fish. Malabar, p. 25 ; Klunz. Verb. z. b. Ges. m 

 VVien, 1870, p. 740. 



Scolopsis auratus, Giinther, Catal. i, p. 355. 



Scolopsis Vosniaeri, Bleeker, Revis. Scolop. p. 361. 



Kimdid, Tarn. 



B. V, D. V", P- 17, V. 1/5, A. f, C. 17, L. 1. 42-44, L. tr. 3|-4/13-14, Coec. pyl. (3 Kner.) 



Length of head 1/4 to 3/14, of caudal 4/21 to 2/9, height of body 1/3 to 2/5 of the total length. Enes— 

 diameter 2/^5 to 1/3 (in the adult) of length of head, 2/3 of a diameter from end of snout, and 3/4 to 1 apart. 

 The maxilla reaches to below the anterior fourth or in the adult to beneath the front edge of the orbit. 

 Preorbital with rather a deep plate, armed superiorly with one strong fluted spine projecting backwards and 

 from about three to seven or eight denticulations below it : above this spine the suborbital^ plate is armed wiijt 

 another directed both forwards and backwards, in some specimens these are very small, especially the anterior one. 

 In one specimen this anterior projection of the suborbital spine is imperceptible, so it is probable that Sir John 

 Richardson's statement of " two suborbital teeth pointing backwards, one mider the other and more slender, 

 none pointing forwards," may have been quite correct : it is scarcely necessary to observe that he considered the 

 preorbital spine as a suborbital one. Preopercle with its vertical limb slightly emarginate, due to its projecting 



* Cuv. and Val. remark upon Russell's figure showing 10 soft rays in the dorsal fin, and his description giving 1 1, consequently 

 a new name was bestowed on the species, which however only possesses 9 rays. 



t Cuv. and Val. bestowed this designation on Riippell's fish because the vertical limb of the preopercle is not shown so 

 emarginate as figured by Rnssell and as existing in nature. 



X Scolopsis argyrosomus, Kuhl and v. Hass. JISS. apud Cuv. and Val. 



