204 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. 



1-3 times in the length of the head and the scarcely produced 

 outer rays reach slightly beyond the vent. . Caudal rounded, the 

 upper lobe rather the longer, the least height of the pedicel half 

 the length of the head. 



Scales.— Hea,d, body and all the fins densely covered with scales, 

 those of the body as seen on the fish are deep and short, strongly 

 ctenoid; they are so small and irregular as to render counting not 

 possible! When removed from the body a single scale is seen to 

 be deep seated with a comb-like margin exhibiting about fourteen 

 teeth ; in situ the scales are greatly imbricate, their pectinations 

 alone exposed. The lateral line is to be very faintly traced, it 

 follows the curvature of the back to between the termination of the 

 dorsal and anal fins whence it proceeds along the middle of the 

 caudal pedicel. 



Colours.— The head is dirty yellow, (brighter in the younger 

 example) darker on the preopercle. On the occiput the colour 

 gradually merges into that of the body, which together with the 

 bases of the vertical tins and the caudal pedicle is a rich cofi'ee- 

 brown ; the exposed portions of the jaws, the chin and chest are a 

 darker brown. The eye is encircled by a dark line, which in life 

 may have shown traces of blue ; above, behind and below the eye 

 this line follows the curvature of the orbit, but anteriorly is pro- 

 duced forwards, the upper part passing through the nostrils and 

 finally joining the lower portion on the anterior edge of the pre- 

 orbital. Another line marks the posterior edge of the preopercle, 

 is deflected up the base of the spine and returns along its lower 

 border to the point of origin ; the opercle is also margined by a 

 dark line and the opercular membranes are black. Anteriorly a 

 broad submarginal band of brown arises on the membrane of the 

 dorsal spines and passes along the whole of the fin, becoming darker 

 posteriorly; the margin of the membrane is yellow. The whole 

 of the anal is very dark. brown and is margined with greyish-blue. 

 The pectorals are yellow basally, the posterior half black with a 

 yellow margin; the ventrals are without markings. The caudal 

 is yellow, which colour is sharply separated from the brown of the 

 pedicel, its upper and lower margins are narrowly edged with 

 black, and its posterior third is also black, this colour being 

 narro'w on the lobes and broadening greatly towards the middle ; 

 the rays are narrowly margined with yellow. Total length of two 

 specimens 250 mm. and 170 mm. respectively. 



HOLACANTHUS SEMICINCTUS, Sp. UOV. 



(Plate xxxvi.) 

 D. XV. 17. A. iii. 18. V. i. 5. P. 17. C. 17 + 4. L. lat. 46. 

 L. tr. 7 + 22. 

 Length of head 3-85, of caudal tin 453, height of body 2-1 in 

 the length (caudal excluded). Diameter of eye 3-6, length of snout 



