214 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. 



This species is perhaps the one doubtfully referred by Johnston* 

 to H. conwayi, Rich.f It is, however, quite distinct from that 

 species, and differs in the following particulars : — 



The dorsal has a smaller number of spines, and is relatively 

 very much higher, the spines also are longer than the rays ; 

 whereas in H. conwayi the rays are twice as long as the spines — 

 a character common also to the anal. 



H. fasciatus and H. punctatus I have each twelve dorsal spines 

 and sixteen rays, the body in these species is shorter and higher, 

 the eye is smaller and the soft vertical tins much longer than in 

 II. woodwardi. 



In common with other Australian workers, I have at times re- 

 ferred to the difficulty experienced by zoological writers living at 

 prohibitive distances from European literary centres, and the 

 hopelessness, in many cases, of bringing an undertaking to a 

 satisfactory conclusion. Such disabilities are caused by a lack of 

 necessary literature, and many are the instances in which a train 

 of research has to be abandoned owing to the impossibility of 

 consulting some particular paper. 



Where a genus is weighted with a large number of species, the 

 difficulty may be appreciated ; but when only a few are known, 

 the task would seem to be a simple one; this may not, however, 

 be so, and I may instance Hojdegnathus, the genus now under 

 consideration. 



Richardson first described the genus in 1840, as a Scaroid, under 

 the name Oplegnathus,% the species being 0. comvaii. The follow- 

 ing year he altered the generic name to Hoplegnathus and the 

 specific one to comvayi, when exhibiting drawings before the 

 meeting of the British Association, |j and in 1849 published a full 

 description and figure. H The specimen described was supposed to 

 be from Australia. In the year 1844, Temminck and Schlegel 

 des^cribed two fishes from Japan under the generic name Scarodon, 

 namely, S. fasciatus and S. jrunctatus^X and mention the earliest 

 representation of a species in tlie Atlas of Krusenstern's voyage, 

 under the name "Poisson perroquet noir."** Both these examples 

 were from Japan. 



* Johnston— Proc. Eoy. Soc. Tas., 1884;, p. 194. 



t Eichardson— Proc. Zool. Soc, 1840, p. 27; and Trans. Zool. Soc, 1849, 

 iii., p. 144, pi. vii,, fig. 1. 



X Temminck and Schlegel — Fauna Japon, Pisces, 1844, p. 89, pi. xlvi. 

 and p. 91. 



§ Richardson — Proc Zool. Soc, 1840, p. 27. 



II Eichardson— Rep. Brit. Assoc, 1841 (1842), pt. 2, p. 71. 



IT Eichardson — Trans. Zool. Soc, iii., 1849, p. 144, pi. vii., fig. 1. 



** Krusenstern — Atlas, pi. Hi., fig. 2, 



