SEEEANUS. 9 



Caudalis rounded. The height of the body is contained thrice and a half, and the 

 length of the head thrice and one-seventh in the total length. The diameter of the 

 eye is one-fifth of the length of the head. Snout rather pointed, longer than the eye. 

 Pra?operculum slightly emarginate behind, conspicuously denticulated. Sub- and inter- 

 operculum entire. The maxillary bone reaches nearly to a vertical from the posterior 

 margin of the orbit. Dorsal spines feeble, subequal in length, about one-third the 

 length of the head. The second and third of the anal are equal ; the former is rather 

 the stronger. 



Colour brown, covered all over with round white spots. In addition there are five or 

 six obliquely transverse rows of larger, light-colom-ed spots, through which the smaller 

 ones are distinctly visible. The greatest number of the larger spots in a row is four, 

 and each contains from three to nine of the smaller ; the foremost row is on the head. 

 All the fins are spotted with white, each spot being as large as the pupil. There is a 

 black streak above the maxillary bone. 



Aden. Bed Sea. 



18. Serranus hoevenii. Plate II. fig. 3.. [396,422,600,711.] 



Serranus hoevenii, Bleek. Verhand. Bat. Genootsch. 1849, Perc. p. 36; Giinth. Fish. i. p. 138. 



D. y. A. i. L. lat. 80. 



10 o 



Caudalis rounded. The height of the body is contained thrice and three-fourths, and 

 the length of the head thrice and one-fourth in the total length. Upper profile of the 

 head nearly straight, muzzle pointed. The diameter of the eye is one-sixth of 

 the length of the head, and a little less than that of the snout. Prseoperculum 

 distinctly serrated behind, scarcely emarginate above the angle. Sub- and interoper- 

 culum entire. The upper maxillary bone does not quite reach as far as the posterior 

 margin of the eye. The dorsal spines are of moderate strength, subequal in length, 

 the first two excepted, the longest being one-third the length of the head. The soft is 

 higher than the spinous portion. 



Body and dorsal blackish, covered all over with larger and smaller round pearly spots ; 

 the larger ones scarcely exceed the pupil in size. The pectorals, ventrals, caudal, and 

 anal black, the last with a few white spots on the base. A black streak above the 

 maxillary. 



This is undoubtedly the fish described by Bleeker, from whose collection a specimen 

 was received at the British Museum. He describes the fins as immaculate ; but small 

 pearly spots are clearly discernible on the posterior part of the soft dorsal, the base of 

 the anal, and the caudal. We have examined five specimens from Zanzibar, and we 

 find that the size and number of the spots on the fins vary greatly with the age of the 

 fish. On one about the same size as that received from Amboyna, the spots on the fins 

 are nearly as indistinct. 



Zanzibar. Mombassa. Amboyna. 



c 



