129 



Labrus psittaculus, vel Tadtoga psittacula 

 Richardson. 



Labrus psittaculus, Bichardson, Zool. Proceed., March 10, 1840. 

 Zool. Trans. Hi. p. 141. 



Radii:— B. 5; D. 9|11; A. 3|10; C. 1-2| ; P. 1.3; V. 1|5. 



ing ])rocess of the next succeeding veitebra is also broad, 

 and perforated by two holes. 



The specimen in spirits had an uniform hyacinth-red co- 

 lour, without any other spots tlian five or six rows of 

 honey-yellow dots on the soft dorsal and anal, and a few 

 streaks behind the corner of the mouth. 



Length lOj inches. 



Hab. Shores of Tasmania. 



Plate LVI., figs. 7—10. 



In this species there are about fourteen or fifteen teeth 

 on each side of each jaw, and the pair next the symphysis 

 are proportionally larger than in the species already 

 described. The canine at the angb of the mouth is 

 slightly curved, the inner row of small teeth is con- 

 spicuous on the front third of the jaws, but fails posteriorly 

 altogether on the lower jaw, and there are merely some 

 obscure indications of interior teeth on the posterior halves 

 of the premaxillaries. The pharyngeal teeth are repre- 

 sented in figures 9 and 10. 



The body is more compressed than is usual in a Labius: 

 the greatest depth of the body a little exceeds the length 

 of the head, which forms one-fourth of the total length. 

 The operculum and half of the suboperculum are covered 

 with large round scales, and there are four rows of scales 

 on the cheek, which cover nearly as much of it as in L. in- 

 scriptiis. The lobular tip of the gill-cover is narrower 

 than that of X. Itjticlariiis, hut the gill-opening is as much 

 closed by membrane at the shoulder as in inscriptus. 



The lateral line, containing twenty-six scales, curves at 

 the nineteenth, to be continued straight through the tail. 

 There is one scale in addition on the base of the caudal 

 rays without the tubular eminence, making twenty-seven in 

 all, and small scaly fillets exist as usual between the rays. 

 The central tube branches in a palmate mannei-, but the 

 forks are generally fewer than in latidavius, the ultimate 

 branchlets seldom exceeding eight or nine on the anterior 

 scales, or half that number on the tail, nor are they perfo- 

 rated by pores as in latidavius. 



The dorsal spines increase gradually in height from the 

 first to the ninth, which is one-third taller. The soft dor- 

 sal is rather higher, and its rays increase slightly in length 

 to the penultimate one, which is the tallest. The soft rays 

 of the anal are nearly all of one length, and its shorter 

 spines, and those of the dorsal, are overtopped by mem- 

 branous points. In this species and latidavius the anal 

 and dorsal are oppo.site to each other, while in L. tetricus, 

 fucicola and inscriptus the anal ends a little further from 

 the base of the caudal. The caudal has its lower angle 

 rounded slightly, and its upper one pointed and projecting 

 a little. L. psittaculus and latidavius have a gill-ray 

 fewer than tetricus, fucicola or inscriptus. The European 

 Lahri and American Tautoga are noted in the Histoire 

 des Poissoiis as having five gill-rays like psittaculus. 



The spine is composed of nine cervical and sixteen 

 caudal vertebrae. The first caudal one differs from that of 

 latidavius in the limbs of the elliptical arch, formed by its 

 pleurapophyses, being broader, and uniting above so as to 

 enclose a small opening next the centrum. The descend- 



The " KNELMICK," " MINAME " Or " MINAMEN " of the 



natives of King George's Sound, which is named " parrot 

 fish" or " common rock fish " by the sealers of the same 

 locality, seems to be another species of this group, and to 

 resemble L. psittaculus closely in the form of its body 

 and caudal fin. Its soft dorsal appears, however, to be 

 more pointed. I have seen no specimen, but a drawing of 

 it by Deputy Assistant-Commissary-General Neill (No. 18) 

 enables me to describe the colours. Some scales are ob- 

 scurely indicated on the cheek and gill-cover, and from one 

 scale taken from the back, and another from the belly, which 

 accompanies the drawing, the scales generally appear to 

 be rather smaller than those of psittaculus. The ground 

 tints of the head and body are green, with faint longitudi- 

 nal lines of lake corresponding to the rows of scales. The 

 spinous part of the dorsal and basal half of the soft portion 

 are dark green : the upper part of the latter and all the 

 other fins are deep lake-red. Mr. Neill numbers the rays 

 as follows: " D. 8|11; A. 2|10; P. 12; V. 1|.5." It is 

 probable that a short spine at the beginning of the dorsal 

 and one at the anal have been overlooked. Length of 

 drawing 7j inches. 



Hab. King George's Sound. 



The "KNELMICK," "kielmick" or "kielnmick" of the 

 natives of King George's Sound, is evidently another spe- 

 cies of this group, much resembling L. latidavius in its 

 profile. Deputy Assistant-Commissary-General Neill, by 

 whose drawing alone the species is known to us, enumerates 

 the rays as follows : " D. 2-2 ; A. 14 ; P. 1:3 ; V. 5." He 

 says that it is a common inhabitant of rocky coasts, and is 

 a very indifferent article of food. It is taken with the 

 hook. The scales are smaller than those of any of the 

 species described above, and the drawing represents them 

 as covering the entire gill-covering, including the inter- 

 operculum, but it is possible that this may have been an 

 oversight. The dorsal, anal and back are coloured brown- 

 ish-red, the head shows a more dilute tint of the same, and 

 the caudal is reddish-orange. The body and vertical fins 

 are traversed by stout blue bars, forming horizontal rows, 

 about three in number on each of the fins, and ten on the 

 body. The blue lines on the back are oblique ; in the 

 middle of the tail they are replaced by round spots ; and 

 on the caudal they run throughout the fin between the 

 rays. Three blue lines descend from the eye and snout 

 over both jaws, and three curve downwards from a large 

 blue patch on the preoperculum over the cheek and inter- 

 operculum. There is also a blue chevron on the supra- 

 scapular. The pectorals and ventrals are pale, with reddish 

 rays. The drawing is 9| inches long. 



Hab. King George's Sound. 



X 



