1. PLES10P8. 365 



Description of the specimen. — Body oblong, compressed, its height 

 being one-third of the total length (without caudal); the length of 

 the head is a little more than the height of the body : snout mth the 

 cleft of the mouth very oblique, and with the jaws equal anteriorly ; 

 it is as long as the diameter of the eye, which is one-fourth of the 

 length of the head. The width of the interorbital sijace is less than 

 that of the orbit. The maxillary extends a little behind the vertical 

 from the centre of the eye, and has its posterior portion considerably 

 dilated, and rather broader than the prceorbital. The teeth are 

 viUiform, standing in broad bands in the jaws, on the vomer, the 

 palatine bones, and on the tongue ; the vomeiine band is angular. 

 The lower pharyngeals are moveable, but imited by a ligament into a 

 subtriang-ular plate, covered Avith obtusely conical teeth. Branchio- 

 stegals five. The base of the vertical fins is scaly. , The dorsal spines 

 increase in length posteriorly, the length of the twelfth being less 

 than one-half of that of the head ; the membrane behind the spines 

 is notched, and emits a short lobe. The third, fourth and fifth dorsal 

 rays ai-e prolonged into a long lobe, which extends nearly to the end 

 of the caudal ; the sixth, seventh and eighth anal spines are pro- 

 longed into a similar lobe. Caudal rounded, veiy elongate, nearly 

 one-fourth of the total. Pectoral with the seventh and eighth rays 

 longest, shorter than the head. The first ventral ray bifid, much 

 longer than the head, and extending beyond the origin of the anal. 

 Scales ctenoid : they are small on the cheek, where they form thir- 

 teen transverse series between the angle of the mouth and the pos- 

 terior praeopercular hrab ; the operculum is covered with the largest 

 scales, which form there only three transverse series ; nape of the 

 neck with small scales. 



The ground-colour of the body is now whitish, each scale having a 

 dark spot at its base ; the body is crossed by four black bands, broader 

 than the ground-colour between, and becoming paler towards the 

 belly : the anterior descends from the origin of the dorsal fin, the 

 posterior from its end. The head is dark brown, with some indi- 

 stinct black vertical streaks ; pectorals yellow, the other fins black. 



inches, lines. 



Total length 9 4 



Height of the body 2 3 



Length of the head 2 5 



Diameter of the eye 7 



Length of the twelfth dorsal spine 1 0| 



of the caudal fin 2 6 



■ of the pectoral fin 2 1 



of the ventral fin 3 



The locality in which this splendid species was found is unknown ; 

 I conclude, however, from its general appearance that it belonged 

 originally to a Collection made at the Norfolk Islands. 



