368 THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY 



irregular and very little defined yellow stripes, running obliquely 

 on the back; an oblique stripe of that colour on the opercle, below 

 the eye, and others on the front of the head ; on the back part of 

 the back there are dark transverse lines, very irregular and not 

 defined ; the dorsal is of a beautiful yellow, with the rays pink ; a 

 large black blotch covers the two anterior thirds of the soft part, 

 which is edged with pink ; the caudal is yellow ; the anal is 

 pink, with each membrane having two or three rounded spots of 

 a fine yellow ; ventrals and pectorals yellow, with the rays pink ; 

 the membranes of the fins are covered with small scales nearly 

 the entire length. It must be very near to Anthias longimanus 

 of Grunther, but some of the proportions are difierent. The 

 present fish seems to be more elongate ; the lobes of the caudal 

 and the pectorals shorter ; the scales less numerous. 



This beautiful fish was caught on the 19th of July, 1878, and 

 is a little over eighteen inches long. 



Plecteopoma serratum. 



Plectropoma serratum ; Cuv. Val., vol. I., p. 399. 



Quoy and Gaim; Astrolabe Fish, pi. 2, p. 1. 



Body very high, short ; its height twice and-a-half in the total 

 length, without the caudal fin, or twice and four-fifths with 

 the latter ; the head is more than one-third of the total length 

 the eye is contained five and-a~half times in the head 

 there is a series of very large outer teeth, but no real canines 

 praeopercle with strong teeth behind, becoming still stronger at 

 the angle, with two very strong spines on the lower edge ; these 

 are about equal ; the opercle has three spines ; the first dorsal 

 has thirteen strong spines — the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th are the 

 longest ; the soft part has fifteen rays, and is as high as the 

 longest part of the spiny portion ; caudal fin, rounded ; the anal 

 has three spines, the central one the longest, and eight rays. 



The fish is entirely of an olive yellowish green, covered with 

 small rounded blue spots each covering four scales; the fins 

 similarly spotted, with the exception of the ventrals and pectorals, 

 which are dark green ; length, thirteen inches. 



I have very little doubt that this is the sort described by 



