FAMILY, XXIV— PEDICULATl. 273 



vary, generally reddish-yellow marbled witli brown, and brown spots mostly edged with white, radiating from 

 the eye. Round white spots on sides, and on abdomen. In some the fins are banded. Iris golden, 

 with radiating brown lines. 



Eahltat.—Iied Sea, East coast of Africa, through the seas of India to the Malay Archipelago 

 and beyond. 



Genus, 2 — Halieutjia, Guv. mid Val. 



AstrocantJius, Swainson. 



Braneliiostegals six. Body and head depressed, the latter very large and hroad, anteriorly forming the^ are oj 

 a circle. Eyes antero-lateral. Cleft of inouth horizontal, rather wide, tvith the upper jaiu rather protractile. A 

 transverse bony ridge across snout, beneath which is a retractile tentacle. Gill opening near the axilla on the upper 

 surface of the body. Gills two and a half: the anterior branchial arch destitute of lantince, small teeth on jaivs and 

 tongue, palate edentulous. A short dorsal and also anal Jin : Jin rays imbranched. Body and head covered with 

 small spines. Air-vessel and pyloric appendages absent. 



" The union of the interopercle with the preorbital" is said by Dr. Giinther to be " very singular, and 

 unique in this order of fishes. A little before the suture between the inter- and sub- opercle the preopercle is 

 joined to the former ; it is the smallest of all the opercular pieces, and its limbs meet at a somewhat acute 

 angle." (Catal. iii, p. 204.) 



Bleeker found that the intestinal tract was much longer than the fish, and contained the remains of 

 shells. (Verh. Acad. Wetensch. Amsterdam, i, Japan, p. 10.) 



SYNOPSIS OF INDIVIDUAL SPECIES. 



1. Halieutcea stellata, D. 4, A. 4. Superiorly and laterally covered with spines. Pinkish. Seas of 

 India to the Malay Ai-chipelago and beyond. 



1. Halieutsea stellata, Plate LIV, fig. 1. 



Lophius stellatus, Wahl. Skr. Nat. Kj6b. iv, p. 214, t. iii, fig. 3, 4 ; Bl. Schu. p. 142. 



Lophius faujas, Lacep. i, p. 318, t. xi, fig. 2, 3. 



Iiophius muricatus, Shaw, Zool. v, p. 382, pi. 162. 



Halieutaia stellata, Cuv. and Val. xii, p. 456, pi. 366 ; Temm. and Schlegel, Fauna Japon. Poissons, p. 160, 

 pi. 72 ; Jerdon, M. J. L. and Sc. 1861, p. 150 ; Bleeker, Japan, p. 10, and Atl. Ich. vi, p. 4, t. 198, f. 3, and 200, 

 f. 2; Giinther, Catal. iii, p. 203. 



Astrocanthus stellatus, Swainson, Fishes, ii, p. 331, fig. 108. 



B. vi, D. 4, P. 13, V. 1/5, A. 4, C. 9, Vert. 7/10. 



Eyes — lateral, with the interorbital space rather concave. A retractile tentacle at snout above the 

 mouth and which has a trefoil extremity. Gill openings above the axilla in about the middle of the total 

 length. Fins — dorsal fin situated in the third fifth of the total length, and slightly behind the pectorals. All 

 the fin rays unbranched. Scales — body covered with rather distantly placed spines, each of which as a rule, 

 has four or more roots, the lateral spines are the largest, and in the anterior half of the body have three or even 

 four points at their outer edges. Colours — pinkish. 



Jerdon observes that he only procured two specimens of this fish whilst in Madras. Whilst I was there 

 it was by no means rare, but not attaining the size at which Bleeker has taken it in the Malay Archipelago. 



Habitat. — Seas of India to the Malay Archipelago and beyond ; it attains at least 8 inches in length. 

 The one figured (life-size) is from Madras. 



2 N 



