100 THTGLID^i:. 



spines are the longest, their length being 2| in that of the hea 

 the second of the anal fin longer and stronger than the third. Three 

 prfeopercular spines. Uniform red. 

 Caribbean Sea. 



a. Adnlt: stuffed. (He de France?) From Dr. Janvier's Col- 

 lection. 

 h. Half-grown. West Indies. Presented by Sir R. Schombiirgk. 



Description. — The greatest depth of the body is below the fifth 

 dorsal spine, where it is contained 3| in the total length. The 

 outlines of the form of the body resemble very much those of the 

 common Perch, the dorsal line being most arched at the highest 

 point of the body. The length of the head is one-third of the total. 

 The eye is placed high up the sides, slightly interfering with the 

 upper outline of the head ; its horizontal diameter is rather shorter 

 than the snout, and one-fourth of the length of the head. 



The intermaxillaries are styliform, and armed, like the dentary and 

 palatine bones, with a rather narrow band of villiform teeth. The 

 band of the vomerine teeth is angularly bent, and produced forwards 

 at the angle. The maxiUaries are stylrform at the superior extremity 

 and moderately dilated at the inferior. Scales cover the head to 

 the posterior angle of the orbit superiorly, and to the praeorbital and 

 the angle of the mouth laterally. The spines are very acute and 

 prominent in the younger of the specimens, and more obtuse in the 

 older one. There are two turbinal spines ; on each side of the 

 occiput a series of five spines between the orbit and the nape of the 

 neck ; two between the eye and the scapula. The praeorbital is 

 armed with two strong and recurved spines at the inferior margin ; 

 the infraorbijtal ridge with three. The prfeopercular margin is 

 rounded, and provided with four spines, the uppermost and strongest 

 of which is situated opposite to the extremity of the infraorbital 

 ridge ; the operculum with two flat spines ; there is, finally, another 

 pair at the throat. The only skinny appendage in this species 

 is a long, slender, tapering filament above the posterior angle of 

 the orbit. 



The dorsal fin commences immediately behind the vertical from 

 the suprascapula, its distance from the occiput equalling the length 

 of the first spine, which is about half the length of the second ; the 

 third and fourth are the longest, 2| in the length of the head ; 

 the following gradually decrease in length to the eleventh, which 

 equals the first ; the twelfth spine is much longer again, apparently 

 belonging to the soft portion of the fin, which is supported by it ; 

 the soft portion has the margin rounded, is veiy little higher than 

 the spinous, and posteriorly fixed to the back of the tail by a mem- 

 brane. Caudal subtruncated. The origin of the anal falLs vertically 

 somewhat behind that of the soft dorsal ; its second spine is strong, 

 rather longer than the third of the dorsal fin, and has a longitudinal 

 groove. The pectoral fin reaches to the anal, the ventral to the vent. 



The scales are of moderate size and rather irregularly arranged ; 

 there can be counted, however, forty transverse rows. 



