188 PERCH, 



small but firmly-attaclicd scales. Eyes large; nostrils, as in all 

 this family of fishes, double, and between the eyes and point 

 of the upper jaw. The first gill-cover (preojierculum) finely 

 serrated; the hindmost furnished with a flattened sjaine. Lateral 

 line passing along nearer the back. The first dorsal fin rounded 

 and well developed, with firm and j^rickly rays, of which the 

 fourth and fifth are commonly the longest; the second dorsal 

 near the first, and opposite the anal; the latter with two firm 

 rays at its commencement. Tail concave. The colours are lively, 

 but subject to variation. The back a rich brown, sometimes 

 greenish; cheeks and sides yellow, the belly white. A variable 

 number of broad bands of the colour of the back pass round 

 the sides. The first dorsal fin flesh-coloured at the base, bluish 

 near the margin; the first and last borders dark, almost black. 

 Pectoral fins pale; the ventrals, second dorsal, anal, and tail 

 red. Fin rays — first dorsal fourteen, second dorsal fourteen, 

 pectoral twelve, ventral one to five, anal two to five, caudal 

 eighteen. 



