FAMILY, XXX— BLENNIID^. 327 



B. vi, D. 3i, P. 12, V. 2, A. 22-23, C. 12. 



Length of head 6J, of caudal 8, height of body 6 in the total length. Eyes — diameter 4|- in length of 

 head, 3/4 of a diameter from end of snout, and also apart. Greatest width of head equals half its length, and 

 its height equals its length excluding the snout. Snout obtuse. The maxilla reaches to below the front third 

 of the eye. Teeth — canines in the lower jaw large, their length equalling 3/4 of a diameter of the eye, those in 

 the upper jaw only half their size. J^('»s— the dorsal fin just reaches to the base of the caudal, posteriorly it is 

 3/4 of the height of the body. Pectoral equals the length of the head excluding the snout. Ventral short, not 

 above half as long as the pectoral. Colours — gray, with seven or eight pairs of spots on the body below the 

 base of the dorsal fin : and four or five narrow, dark, horizontal lines along the body. A dark line along the 

 dorsal fin becoming widest posteriorly. In small specimens, sometimes there appear to exist angular or 

 ii-regularly directed narrow white bands. 



Habitat. -^Seas of India to AustraKa. 



2. Petroscirtes bipunctatus, Plate LXXI, fig. 3. 

 B. vi, D. 33, P. 13, V. 2, A. 34, C. 1(3. 



Length of head 5, of caudal 5^, height of body SJ in the total length. Eyes — diameter 3^ in length of 

 head, nearly 1 diameter from end of snout, and 1 apart. Profile of snout obliquely rounded. Greatest width of 

 head equals its length behind the middle of the eyes, and its height equals its length excluding the snout. The 

 maxilla reaches to below the front third of the eye. No tentacles on the head. Teeth — 24 in the upper and 

 22 in the lower jaw, laterally in the lower jaw is a large canine nearly equalling the diameter of the orbit, there 

 is also a lateral canine on either side of the upper jaw about half the size of that in the lower. Fins — dorsal 

 commences over the hind edge of the opei-cle, posteriorly it is not continued so far as the base of the caudal. 

 Colours — brownish gray, wdth the upper surface of the anterior half of the head and also the snout blue, a narrow 

 blue band descends from the middle of the eye, and on the throat joins one from the opposite side in a V-shape : 

 a second from just behind the eye passes do^vn parallel with the first and joins one from the opposite side, two 

 more pass down fi-om the opercle on to the base of the pectoral fin. Dorsal and anal fins edged with brown, 

 two dark spots on the dorsal, the first from the fourth to the sixth ray, the second between the tenth and 

 eleventh. 



Habitat. — The specimen figured (life-size) is from the sea at Calicut. 



3. Petroscirtes variabilis, Plate LXIX, fig. 7. 

 Cantor, Catal. p. 200 ; Giinther, Catal. iii, p. 234. 

 .'' PetrosciHes cynodon, Peters, Wiegm. Arch. 1855, p. 246. 



B. vi, D. 28-31, P. 13, V. 4, A. 17-21, C. 13. 



Length of head 5|-, of caudal 6, height of body 6 in the total length. Eyes — diameter 1/4 of length of 

 head, Ij diameters from end of snout, and also apart. Snout somewhat produced. Greatest width of head 

 2j- in its length, and its height equals its length excluding the snout. Mouth transverse, the cleft only extends 

 to beneath the anterior edge of the eye, but the maxilla reaches to below its first third. A short simple tentacle 

 at the posterior-superior edge of the eye, and a very short one on either side of the chin. Teeth — the canine 

 teeth in the lower jaw large, those in the upper small. Fins — dorsal commences behind the hind edge of the 

 preopercle, it is not elevated anteriorly, its greatest height equals 3/4 of that of the body below it, it terminates 

 a short distance before the root of the caudal fin. Pectoral and ventral each as loug as the head without the 

 snout, the latter fin having its two central rays of the same length and the longest in the fin. Caudal cut 

 rather square, and said to sometimes have its upper or lower rays prolonged. Colours — pinkish, with dark 

 spots, having a broad bluish or blackish band passing from the eye to the base of the caudal fin, where it ends 

 in a large black blotch, in young specimens bands proceed a short distance upwards from it, and a row of light 

 spots are seen along its lower border : a second dai'k band is sometimes present along the back at the base of 

 the dorsal fin. Two or thi-ee blue bands pass downwards fi-om the eye : head with numerous light spots. 

 Dorsal fin marbled and spotted in lines, as is also the anal : caudal yellow, vertically banded in spots. 



The specimens of P. cynodon, in the British Museum, received from Dr. Peters, have much more 

 elongated tins than I have seen in P. variabilis, the head brown spotted and no orbital tentacle. 



Habitat. — I have taken this species at Calicut on the Western coast of India, the one figured (life-size) 

 was brought by the late Dr. Stoliczka from the Nicobars. It is found in the Malay Archipelago. 



4. Petroscirtes Lienardi, Plate LXIX, fig. 8 (f). 



B. vi, D. 3 I 10 I 17, P. 1.5, V. 3, A. 18-20, C. 11. 



Length of head 4| to 4|, of caudal 6 to 6|, height of body 4^ in the total length, JS'j/e.s— diameter 

 1/3 of length of head, not one diameter from end of snout, and 1/3 to 1/2 a diameter apart. Intel-orbital space 

 concave. Greatest width of head equals half its length, and its height equals its length excluding the snout. 

 Snout rather obtuse. The maxilla reaches to below the front edge of the eye. No crest on head. A short 

 fringed supraorbital tentacle and a small one at the nostril : several below the .symphysis of the lower jaw, and 

 some on the cheeks and opercles. Teeth — 25 in the lower jaw, with a very large canine laterally on either side, 

 and 28 in the upper jaw having also a lateral canine, but much smaller. Fins — first three rays of the dorsal fin 



