37 



or square, from which the fan-like funows, varying in 

 number from fifteen to twenty-two, radiate sharply, and 

 take in the whole basal edge. Fine lines of structure are 

 visible parallel to the lateral edges of the scale, ceasing at 

 the flat disk. The lateral line is composed of scales 

 traversed by a simple tube, and covered by the scales 

 above and below, so that, comparatively, little of their 

 disk is seen. Many small scales are crowded on the shoul- 

 der at the commencement of the lateral line, mingling 

 imperceptibly with the small ones on the head. The 

 scales behind the ventrals on the under surface of the 

 belly are longer and naiTower. The dorsal and anal fins 

 are embraced at the base by scaly fillets, which Forskal 

 indicates when he says "fossuld in dorso ;" the soft parts 

 of these fins are scaly between the rays, half-way up, and 

 there are also scaly fillets at the base of the spinous rays, 

 not at every ra}', nor exactly alternately. No scales are 

 shown in the fins of Cr. forskalii, in the figure above 

 referred to, nor is mention made of them in the text of the 

 Histoire des Puissons, but those of the body are said to be 

 " tniiices et tisses,,'" so that if there be no mistake, they 

 differ widely from those of Cr. triglyphus. 



The branchiostegous rays are six in number.* The first 

 five dorsal spines are rather abruptly graduated, the five 

 following ones are all of one length, and the last four are 

 again graduated, but very slightly, the last one being as 

 tall as the fifth one. The first short spine touches the 

 second at its base, but is separated from it by membrane 

 at the tip. The soft part of the fin is higher than the 

 spines, and the last ray is divided to the base. The se- 

 cond and third anal spines are equal to each oilier, and in 

 some specimens, are as tall as the longest dorsal spines, 

 but in the one from which our figure was taken, they are a 

 little shorter. The basal half of the caudal is scaly. This 

 fin is concave on the edge, especially in the smaller spe- 

 cimens, but in the larger ones, when the fin is stretched 

 out it becomes almost even. 



In the Histoire des Poissons, the dentition of Cr. fors- 

 kalii is described in the following terms : — 



" II y a deu.v rangees de dents incisives a chaque md- 

 choire, Ve.vteriie de di.v dents, Vinterne de vingt. Ces 

 dents sont larges, aplaties, inserees terticalement sur la 

 mdclioire ; leur bord est festonn6 et denteU par cinq 

 deniicides, dont les trois du milieu depassent de beancoup 

 les laterales. Derriere ces incisives il y a de petites dents 

 grenues et arrondies sur plusieurs rangs. Les pharyn- 

 giennes sont en cardes tres-Jines." 



The outer teeth of Cr. triglyphus are arranged nearly as 

 above-mentioned, viz., about twenty-two on each limb of 

 each jaw, and here and there the row is doubled, or even 

 trebled, but not in a regular manner. But the inner teeth, 

 though much shorter than the outer ones, are exactly 

 alike in form, pressed closely within each other in five or 

 six rows, so that only the extreme tips project beyond the 

 gum, and give the appearance of a close villiform surface, 

 which is separated by a furrow from the longer teeth on 

 the edge of the jaw, produced by the forward inclination 

 of the latter. It is evident that, as the longer teeth wear 



* The text of the Histoire des Poissons mentions five gill-rays, while 

 the formula, a few lines lower, marks six. 



away, their place is supplied by a row from the posterior 

 ones. Each tooth has three blunt lips. The tongue is 

 soft and granular. The roof of the mouth is toothless. 



The specimens, which have been long preserved in 

 spirits, are dark coloured, with faint lines in the direction 

 of the scales. 



Length, from five to sixteen inches. 



Hab. Port Jackson, Australia. 



Dajaus diemensis. Richardson. 



Dajaus diemensis. Bich. Zool. Tr. iii. p. 123. 



Radii:— Br. 6; D.4]— 10; A.31I2; C. 14^; P. 15; V. IjS. 



Plate XXVI., figs. 1, 2. 



This mullet is fully described, and the characters which 

 distinguish it from the previously discovered Australian 

 mullets, pointed out in the work above quoted. It was 

 placed in the genus Dajaus, on account of its vomerine 

 and palatine teeth, but its mouth does not exactly corre- 

 spond with that of Dajaus monticola, and differs little 

 from that of some true mullets. The greater number of 

 its anal rays distinguishes it readily from the other mullets 

 of the Australian seas. Many of the scales had dropped 

 fi-om the operculum of our specimens, before they formed 

 the subject of the artist's skill, so that their exact size and 

 distribution on that part may not be quite correctly repre- 

 sented ; the figure is excellent in other parts. 



Length, from ten to fourteen inches. 



Hab. Van Diemen's Land and West Australia ; King 

 George's Sound ; Port Arthur. 



Latris ciliaris. 



Ch. Spec. L. capite quintam partem longitudiiiis piscis 

 totius ejfficiente ; radiis sex inferioribus pinnai pectoris 

 indivisis ; caudd emarginatd lobis inaqualibus. 



Radii:— B. 6; D. 17|39; A. SjSS; C. 13|; V.UetG; 

 A. 1|5.* 



Sciana ciliaris, Descr. An. J. R. Forsteri, cura H. Licht. p. 138, pars 

 descr. 



Icon Ined. Georg. Forst. No. 209 in Bibl. Banks, serv. 



Plate XXVI., fig. 6, one-third nat. size, fig. 7, magnified. 



In the 'Transactions of the Zoological Society' (vol. iii. 

 p. 106), I gave an account of the characters of Latris, 

 which may be considered either as a subdivision of Chei- 

 lodactylus, or as a proper genus, according to the different 

 views of systematic writers. A detailed account of a 

 striped species, named Latris hecateia, accompanied by a 

 con-ect figure, is there given. This is the " Trumpeter" of 

 Van Diemen's Land, the fish w'hich is most prized in the 

 colony lor its edible qualities. Fish of the same genus 

 had been observed on the coast of New Zealand, by the 

 naturalists who accompanied Cook on his first and second 

 voyages. One species was taken in Queen Charlotte's 

 Sound, and named by Solander Scixna salmonea, but he 

 left no description of it, and all that remains for its identi- 



Thei 



represents one dorsal spine too many. 



