430 BULLETIN 10 0, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



A valued food fish all along the eastern and southern Australian 

 coast line. Distinguished from the related Sillago maculata by its 

 deeper caudal peduncle, which nearly equals the postocular region. 

 It agrees, however, in the dark basal pectoral blotch. 



The imperfectly described Sillago terrae-reginae Castelnau is 

 apparently synonymous : 



Depth little less than 4; head 3%. Eye 4}^ in head, 2 in snout; 

 interorbital 2 in snout; preopercle entire; opercle ends in small spine. 

 Scales 64 in lateral line. D. X, I, 18, third spine longest; A. II, 15; 

 caudal very slightly concave. Silvery, upper parts greenish. On 

 body some very indistinct transverse dark bands, disappearing in 

 dried specimen. Length 305 mm. 



U.S.N.M. No. 28674. No locality. Australian Museum. Two, 279 to 281 mm. 

 U.S.N.M. No. 59886. New South Wales. D. G. Stead. Four, 245 to 366 mm. 



SiLLAGiNOPODYS, new subgenus ^^ 



Type. — Sillago chondropus Bleeker. 



Diagnosis.- — Ventral spine expanded as thick cartilaginous pad, 

 joined with first ventral ray. 



SILLAGO CHONDROPUS Bleeker 



Sillago chondro'pus Bleeker, Verb. Batav. Genootscb., vol. 22, p. 61, 1849 (type 

 locality: Batavia). — Gunther, Cat. Fisb. Brit. Mus., vol. 2, p. 246, 1860 

 (compiled). — Gill, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pbiladelpbia, 1861, p. 504 (com- 

 piled). — Bleeker, Verb. kon. Akad. Wet. Amsterdam, vol. 14, No. 4, p. 65, 

 1874 (Java); Atlas Icbtb. Ind. N^erland., vol. 9, pi. (1) 189, fig. 2, 1877. 



Depth 6 to 6%; head 3% to 3%, width 1% to 2. Snout 2K to 2% in 

 head; eye 4% to 5, 1% to 2 in snout, 1 to 1}^ in interorbital; maxillary 

 reaches 1% to 1% in snout, length 4 to 4% in head; teeth minute, villi- 

 form, in moderately wide bands in jaws and on vomer; interorbital 

 b)i to 5%, but slightly elevated and nearly level medianly. Gill 

 rakers 3 + 8, lanceolate, IK in gill filaments, which 1% in eye. 



Scales 69 or 70 in lateral line to caudal base and 5 to 8 more on 

 latter; 5 or 6 above, 10 below, 33 to 38 predorsal forward midway in 

 anteronasal region of snout; 4 or 5 rows of scales on cheek below 

 eye to preopercle ridge; caudal finely scaled basaUy, also other fins 

 with small scales. Scales with 5 or 6 basal radiating striae; 52 to 

 71 apical denticles, with 9 to 11 transverse series of basal elements; 

 circuli fine. 



D. XI-I, 21, I, second spine 1% in head, first branched ray 2){; A. 

 Ill, 23, I, first branched ray 4; caudal IK to 1%, slightly emarginate 

 behind; least depth of caudal peduncle 3 to 3K; pectoral 1^ to 1%; 

 ventral 1% to 2, spine and first ray broadly cartilaginous or osseous 

 terminally. 



Brown, paler to whitish below and in alcoholic examples with a 

 swarthy or general dusky appearance. An underlaid silvery-gray 



'« Sillago + vobs, foot, with reference to the modified ventral fins. 



