942 ON AN UNDESCRIBED SCI^ENA FROM THE N.S.W. COAST. 



shorter. Caudal rounded. Air-bladder — large with about 26 

 lateral fringes on each side. Gill-rakers — 18, strong, some very 

 short. Colors — deep steel-blue above gradually changing through 

 the silvery of the sides into the white of the abdominal region ; a 

 large black axillary blotch. Head rather duller than back, the 

 cheeks and preorbitals tinged with gold. All the fins, except the 

 white ventral s, pale brown. Irides golden and brown. Inside 

 of jaws, and a semi-circular band beneath the edge of the opercle 

 orange. 



The fish for which we have thought it right to form the above 

 species is the common Jew-fish of our market, which has hitherto 

 gone by the name of Scimna antarctica, Casteln.; from this how- 

 ever it differs by the great length of the maxilla, by the presence 

 of numerous irregular small teeth between the curved ones of 

 the lower jaw, by the size of the orbit, by the shortness of the 

 snout, &c. From S.aquila, Lacep. it may at once be distinguished 

 by the position of the anal fin, and the dentition of the upper jaw. 



The three examples examined were obtained during the last 

 month in the Sydney market, and came from Broken Bay ; they 

 measured respectively 38'5, 21 "8, and 19 inches, and are therefore 

 a fair working series. The smallest is a female, the two others 

 males, but in all three the spawn is but little developed. 



We also take this opportunity of pointing out that Callionymus 

 reevesii, Rich. (Voy. Sulphur, Fishes, p. 60, pi. 36, f. 4) is not the 

 female of Callionymus curvicomis, Cuv. and Val., as stated by Dr. 

 Giinther, (Cat. iii., p. 145), since we have several specimens of the 

 Callionymus valenciennesii, Schleg. (Faun. Jap., Poiss. p. 153, 

 pi. 78, f. 3), which Dr. Giinther places as a synonym of C. 

 curvicomis, two of which are females with the ova fully 

 developed ; we are now enabled to record C. reevesii, from Port 

 Jackson, having obtained a fine example on the 11th instant. 



