BY W. MACLEAY, F.L.S. 383 



178. Dentex filifer, Casteln. 



Castelnau, Eesearclies on tlie Fishes of Australia, p. 12. 



D. 12/9. A. 3/7. 



The height of the body is three times and one-third in the total 

 length; the head over three times and a-haK in the same ; the prse- 

 operculum has five series of scales; the teeth are numerous, 

 villiform, with an external series of larger ones, and two strong 

 canines on each side of the upper jaw in front, and one on each 

 side in the lower jaw. The tail deeply forked with the third ray of 

 the uj)per lobe produced into a filament as long as the total length 

 of the fish ; the ventrals have the outer ray elongate. Coloration 

 silvery- white (in spirits), with the upper parts of a slate colour ; 

 a bright yellow stripe, rather broad, extends from below the eye 

 to the base of the pectorals. 



Queensland. One specimen nine inches long. 



Q-enus Synagris, Gunth. 



Characters the same as Dentex, except that there are only three 

 series of scales between the eye and the angle of the praeoperculum. 



Found in the Indian and Pacific Seas. 



179. Synagris ftjrcostjs, Cuv. & Val. 



Gunth. Cat. Fishes I., p. 373. 



D. 10/9. A. 3/7. L. lat. 48-50. L. transv. 4/14. 



The height of the body equals the length of the head, and is 

 oue-f ourth of the total ; the diameter of the eye is thrice and two- 

 thirds in the head, and once and a-half in the length of the snout. 

 The prseorbital is higher than the eye. Six canine teeth in each 

 jaw. Spines of fins slender, flexible, the fourth, fifth, and sixth 

 longest, about twice and a-third in the length of the head. 

 Caudal fin deeply forked, scaly, the upper lobe rather the longer, 

 ^he second and third anal spines very feeble and nearly equal in 

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