BY W. MACLEAY, F.L.S. 515 



Scales scarcely striated. Eed, with eight whitish longitudinal 

 bands ; the outer edges of the caudal fin blackish ; the ventrals 

 whitish, black between the third spine and first ray. 



Port Darwin. 



This species has a very wide range throughout the Indian and 

 Chinese seas, but has never been mentioned before as Australian. 



Genus Neoniphon, Casteln. 



Two dorsal fins slightly united ; scales adherent, large and 

 ctenoid ; body oblong ; anal fin with three spines, the last of these 

 of very great size. Opercles with long spines. Teeth numerous, 

 villiform, none on the palatine bones ; tongue smooth ; ventrals 

 with seven raj^s. 



Australia. 



321. Neoniphon armattjs, Casteln. 

 Eesearches on the Fishes of Australia, p. 5. 



Body elongate, somewhat convex above and almost straight 

 beneath ; height three times and two-thirds in the length without 

 the caudal fin, head twice and three-quarters in the same ; eye 

 very large, its diameter contained three times in the length of the 

 head, and equal to the length of the snout ; lower jaw longer 

 than the upper ; suborbital bone very strongly serrated ; cheeks 

 covered with rather small scales ; prseoperculum finely serrated, 

 with a long spine at the lower angle ; operculum crenulated and 

 armed on its upper part with two long spines ; upper part of head 

 naked, the frontal bones covered with radiating grooves posteriorly; 

 space between the eyes broad, with four feeble longitudinal 

 ridges. L. lat. 38-40. First dorsal fin with eleven spines ; the 

 third longest. Second dorsal 1/12 high and narrow; Anal 3/9, 

 the third spine equal to the height of the body ; caudal bilobed. 

 Colour pink, beneath silvery, top of head and back purplish ; an 

 obscure longitudinal stripe extends from the operculum to the 

 3 N 



