FAMILY, I— SCLERODERMI. 



687 



10. Bal{stes acuUatus, D. 3/24-25, A. 21-22, L. 1. 38-40, L. tr. 22. Teeth white, uneven, notched : no 

 groove in front of eje : osseous scutes behind gill-opening: 2| rows of recurved spines on side of tad. Gray, 

 with a dark blotch along the side of the body, obliquely banded with white; three blue lines pass from the eye 

 to the base of the pectoral fin, and an orange one from the corner of the mouth. Eed Sea, East coast of 

 Africa, seas of India to the Malay Archipelago. 



11. Ballsfes rectamjulus, I). 3/23, A. 20-22, L. 1. 42, L. tr. 24-28. Teeth white, uneven, notched : no 

 groove in front of eye : osseous scutes behind gill-opening : 3| rows of spines on each side of the tail. A 

 broad black blue-edged band from eye to anal fin : an angular black blue-edged band pointing forwards on the 

 side of the tail. East coast of Africa, seas of India to the Malay Archipelago and beyond. 



12. Balistes midulatus, B. 3/25-26, A. 22, L. 1. 40, L. tr. 23-26. Teeth white, uneven, notched: no 

 groove in front of eye : osseous scutes behind the gill-opening : 2 rows of strong, recurved spines on either side 

 of tail. Brownish, with concave yellow lines on body, and 2 or 3 round the mouth. Red Sea, East coast of 

 Africa, seas of India to the Malay Archipelago, and beyond. 



13. Balistes erythrodon, D. 3/35, A. 3o, L. 1. 33-35, L. tr. 17. Teeth brownish-red, in upper jaw the one 

 on either side of the central pair projecting : osseous scutes behind gill-opening : slightly raised lines along caudal 

 scales : caudal lobes elongated. Deep brown, with the posterior edge of the caudal nearly white. Red Sea, 

 seas of India to the Malay Archipelago. 



A. — Free portion of the tail depressed. 



1. Balistes stellatus, Plate CLXXVII, fig. 1. 



Lacep. i, p. 350 and Batiste etoile, pi. xv, f. 1 : Riippell, Atl. Fische, p. 31 ; Bleeker, Beng. p. 78, and 

 Balist. p. 13; Peters, Fische Mossam. p. 276; Giinther, Catal. viii, p. 212; Klunz. Fische Roth. Meer. 1871, 



* Balistes stellaris, Bl. Schn. p. 476 ; Cuvier, Regn. Anim. ; Richards. Ich. China, p. 200 ; Hollard, Ann. 

 So. Nat. 1854, i, p. 320, t. v, f. 2. 



Balistes, Russell, Pish. Vizag. i, p. 16, and Sonulmm Yellahah, pi. xxiu. 



Balistes Vachelli, Richards. Voy. Sulphur. FLsh. p. 129, and Ich. China, p. 201. 



Balistes phaleratus, Richards. Stokes Australia, i, p. 484, pi. i, f . 4, 5. 



Leiurus Eussellii, Swainson, Fishes, ii, p. 326. 



Balistes forcipatus, Gm. ap. Bleeker, En. Pise. p. 191 (nee. al.) 



Leiums stellatus, Bleeker, Atl. Ich. v, p. 105, t. ccxv; Kner, Novara Fische, p. 398. 



B. vi, D. 3/26-27, P. 15, A. 24-25, C. 13, L. I. 42-46, L. tr. 26. 

 ■ Length of head 3^ to 4^, of caudal fin 5 to 5i, height of body 2t to 3 in the total length, ^y/es— diameter 

 21 to 21- from the end of snout and 1^ apart : a groove in front of the eye. Teei/j— uneven, notched. Tail 

 posteriorly depressed. Fuis— first dorsal commences slightly behind the orbit, its anterior spine strong, and 

 2/3 as long as the head. Ventral spine movable. Posterior edge of caudal concave, and the ends of the lobe 

 often produced in adults. Soft dorsal and anal fins of moderate height. St-a^es— covering the cheeks : some 

 enlarged scutes behind gill-opening. Two ridges on either side of tail in the adult, which in the young are 

 formed of spines on the scales. C'oto wrs— generally gray, dashed with olive-green. Three large white blotches 

 extend from the back some distance down the sides, the first at the base of first dorsal spine, the second 

 between the two dorsal fins, and the third under the middle of the second dorsal : numerous small bluish spots 

 scattered over the back, the lower half of the body being white, marked with light green bands and spots, or 

 numerous yellow spots on the abdomen : 3 or 4 yellow lines run from the mouth towards the base of the 

 pectoral fin. Pectoral yellow with a dark base. First dorsal nearly white, with irregular dark bands going 

 upwards and backwards, and ending in a yellow blotch, between these are some shorter yellow bands havmg dark 

 edges. Second dorsal diaphanous, with 7 or 8 tortuous and almost horizontal olive bands, the lowest of which 

 are sometimes broken up into spots. Caudal light gray, with tortuous vertical white lines, most distinct in its 

 posterior half. Anal light brown, with 5 vertical white bands. Young— an example 1 inch long, dredged at 

 the Andamans, by Mr. J. Wood-Mason, is white, with a broad black interorbital band : black along the upper 

 1/3 of the sides with 4 white blotches which join over the back. 



Bleeker places as perhaps belonging to this species, Balistes, Russell, Fish. Vizag. i, p. 15, and Lama 

 YellaJcah, pi. xxii, or Leiwms macrophthalmus, Swainson, Fishes ii, p. 326, or Balistes macrophthalmus, Bleeker, 

 Beng. p. 78, and B. Yellaka (Cuv.) Jerdon, M. J. L. and Sc. 1851, p. 149. 



Habitat.— Red Sea, East coast of Africa, and seas of India and throughout the Indian and Pacific 

 oceans. This is the commonest species of the genus at Madras, where it attains at least 2 feet in length. 



B. — Free portion of the tail compressed. 



2. Balistes maculatus, Plate CLXXVI, fig. 3. 



Gmel Linn, i, p. 1468; Bloch. t. cli ; Bl. Schn. p. 464; Bonn. Ency. Ich. p. 18, t. xi, f. 37; Lacdp. i, 

 pp. 334, 361 ; Kaup, Scler. p. 223 ; Holl. Ann. Sc. Nat. i, 1854, p. 68 ; Bleeker, Atl. Ich. v, p. 122, t. ccxviii, 

 f. 4 ; Kner, Novara Fische, p. 401 ; Giinther, Catal. viii, p. 213. 



Balistes svfflamen, Mitchell, Lit. and Phil. Trans. New York, i, p. 467, t. vi, f. 2. 



