71 



the form of the spines of the head, the height of the dorsal 

 spines, and in other characters. The existence of scales on 

 almost all parts of the head is introduced into the ' Histoire 

 des Poissons,' as one of the marks by which Seha-ttes may 

 be distinguished from Scorpmna, but the figure of .S'. nooa 

 guinece, published in the ' Zoology of the Voyage of L' As- 

 trolabe,' represents it as scaly round the eye, on the tem- 

 ples, gill-cover, the whole cheek, and the maxillary : the 

 snout, lower jaw, and gill-membrane, being in fact the only 

 naked parts. It would, therefore, appear that the presence 

 of cutaneous filaments in Scorpwiia is the only character 

 by which it is separated fi-om Sehastes. 



Our figure and the following description of S. pandus 

 are dependant upon a single dried specimen which was 

 prepared at King George's Sound, and corresponds closely 

 with Mr. Neill's drawing which we have quoted. The 

 length of the head is contained three times and nearly a 

 half in the total length, caudal included. The back is 

 moderately arched, and the tail is more slender than 

 is usual in the genus. The edge of the orbit rises boldly 

 above the profile, producing a deep, acute furrow on the 

 summit of the cranium, (fig. 4). The usual intraorbital 

 ridges are quite obsolete, and the orbital plates are scaly. 

 One small tooth exists on the anterior quarter of the edge 

 of the orbit, and four on the posterior quarter. They are 

 much less prominent and acute than the corresponding 

 teeth of S. novce guinea;. The diameter of the orbit is equal 

 to one-third of the length of the head. A deep, rounded, 

 transverse furrow separates the orbits from the supra-scapu- 

 lar region. The bony projections on the head generally, 

 are short thin crests ending in a posterior corner, more or 

 less acute, not in rounded spinous points. Such is 

 the character of the short nasal points. The preorbitar has 

 four acute teeth on its under edge, the first being higher up 

 than the other three ; its upper edge is thin, elevated and 

 undulating. The suborbitar ridge which crosses the cheek 

 close to the orbit has four thin crest-like prominences ; this 

 ridge abuts against the preoperculum high on the upper 

 limb, and not as usual against the curve of the bone oppo- 

 site to the principal spine. The disk of the preoperculum 

 is granulated by little bony eminences, and there is a flat 

 triangular projection at its angle, which is crested by two 

 small spines, one incumbent on the other. Three acute 

 spinous points exist on the lower limb of the bone, being 

 fewer than usual. A thin ridge armed by two acute points 

 crosses the middle of the operculum, and a flat spine ter- 

 minates the upper curve of the bone, and overlies the base 

 of the scaly tip of the gill-cover. The temporal groove is 

 marked by two bony points at its anterior end, standing 

 crossvvays, with their flat surfaces turned towards the orbit, 

 and a short indented crest lying longitudinally a little far- 

 ther back. The supra-scapular and scapular have each a 

 thin crest similar to the temporal one. The maxillaries, 

 preorbitars, snout, orbital plates, cheeks, preoperculum, in- 

 teroperculuin, and whole gill-covei-, with the temples and 

 nape are scaly. No vestiges of filaments can be detected 

 on the head or body, nor are any represented in Mr. Neill's 

 or Lieutenant Emery's drawings. The scales are ciliato- 

 dentate, and rough to the touch. About fifty-eight exist in 

 a row between the scapular bone and caudal fin. The 



lateral line is arched and acutely keeled, but not spinous at 

 its commencement. It approaches close to the base of the 

 fourth dorsal spine, but descends again opposite the tentli 

 to the upper quarter of the height, and in the tail to a little 

 above the middle. The keel is confined to the anterior 

 arched part. The dorsal spines are tall, the third one be- 

 ing nearly equal in height to the body. The anterior ones 

 have a considerable curvature. The spinous part of the 

 fin is joined to the base of the spine of the soft part 

 by membrane. The second anal spine is strong and fully a 

 third longer than the following one, which is but a Utile taller 

 than the first. The pectoral fin is large, its tip when laid 

 back reaching to the middle of the anal. The pectoral of 

 Sc. novce guinece falls short of the anus. The rays of the 

 pectoral are more divided than usual, and even the inferior 

 ones are spHt at the point. Judging solely fiom the dried 

 specimen, it does not appear that more than four could 

 have shown the thick, simple tips in the recent state which 

 are common to the inferior pectoral rays of the Scorptc/tcv 

 and Sebnstes. There is httle or no emargination of 

 the membrane. The inferior rays of the gill-membrane are 

 much concealed, so that only five are apparent. Fine vil- 

 liform teeth arm the jaws and chevron of the vomer. 



The markings which remain on the dried specimen have 

 been transferred to the figure. In Mr. Neill's drawing, the 

 lips, maxillary, ventral spines, and some spots on the anal 

 are orange, and the pectoral region has a yellow hue. The 

 dark parts are coloured with neutral tint, and the pale band 

 which crosses the caudal is omitted. In Lieutenant 

 Emery's figure, the head and body have a vermilion color, 

 with "a tapering, hyacinth-red band, descending from 

 the spinous dorsal behind the pectoral, and a narrower one 

 extending from the soft dorsal nearly to the anal. Round 

 drops of dark orange-brown are spread regulariy over the 

 body but do not extend to the belly. Smaller drops of the 

 same hue are scattered on the sides of the head, lower jaw 

 and gill-membrane, being intermixed in the latter localities 

 with whitish spots. All the fins except the ventrals and 

 spinous dorsal are reddish brown, and are spotted like the 



Hab. West coasts of Australia, King George's Sound. 

 Houtman's Abrolhos. 



Lepadogaster puniceus. Richardson. 



Radii :— D. 10 ; A. 4 ; C. 10| ; P. 19 et IV ; V.-- 



Plate XLIII., figs. 1—4, natural size ; 5—7, magnified. 



Body considerably arched, both transversely and in pro- 

 file, flat underneath. A groove runs along the middle of 

 the back from the hind head to the dorsal fin ; the sides 

 are strongly furrowed vertically from the contraction of the 

 muscles, and on each side of the tail at the middle height 

 there is a furrow at the insertion of the muscles. The 

 snout is rather shorter and steeper in profile than the ar- 

 rist has shown it in figure 1 ; its length being somewhat 

 less than the diameter of the orbit. The eyes are scarcely 



