27. ATTSONIA. 413 



26. DIANA. 



Diana, liisso, Eur. 3I/'rid. iii, p. 2G7. 

 Astrodermus, {Bom'lU) C'lii: i^- Val. ix. p. 352. 



Body comj^ressed, oblong, covered with minute granular scales ; 

 cleft of the mouth very narrow ; head with a high interparietal crest. 

 A single dorsal, which, like the anal, is composed of unarticulatcd, 

 flexible, widely-set spines ; ventrals slender, elongate. A single 

 series of minute teeth in the jaws ; teeth on the palatine bones and 

 on the tongue. Eranchiostegals five ; air-bladder none ? Pyloric 

 appendages in small number ; intestines with many circumvolutions. 



Mediterranean. 



1. Diana semilunata. 



Diana semilimata, Risso, I. c. tab. 7. f. 4. 



Astrodermus eorj^hwnoides, {Bonelli) Ciw. Sf Val. ix. p. 353. pi. 270 

 (bad) ; Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1840, p. 37, and Trans. Zool. Soc. lii. p. 7. 

 Diana valenciennesii, Cocco, Giorn. Sc. Lett. Art. Sic. F. 153. cum fig. 

 Astroderma plumbeum, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1843, p. 83. 

 Astrodemius elegans, Bonap. Faun. Ital. Peso, cum fig. 



B. 5. D. 22-23. A. 18. V. 2/5. Ctec. pylor. 5. 



Palate with two membranaceous folds, one behind the intermax- 

 illary teeth, and the other across the vomer. Ventral spines ser- 

 rated. Silvery, with blackish spots ; dorsal and anal fins bluish- 

 black, the other fins reddish-yeUow. 



Mediterranean ; Sea of Madeira. 



The description and figure of Astrodermus elegans, given by Bo- 

 naparte, agree so closely with the characters attributed to Astroderma 

 plumheum by Mr. Lowe, that I do not hesitate to consider both as 

 identical. Bonaparte says, that the figure given by Cuvier is merely 

 a bad representation of the same fish. There is, however, one dis- 

 crepancy between Lowe's and Bonaparte's accounts : the individual 

 examined by the former, and four inches long, had the ventral spine 

 feeble and not serrated, whilst a serratiu-e is distinct in Bonaparte's 

 and Cuvier's specimens, which measured from seven to fifteen inches 

 in length. Whether this is really a specific diff'erence I cannot say. 



27. AUSONIA. 



Ausonia, Risso, Eur. M6rid. iii, p. 341. 

 Proctostegus, Nardo, 



Body oblong, much compressed and attenuated towards the tail, 

 |;encrusted with patches of minute, soft, deciduous, branny scales ; 

 ; cleft of the mouth small, narrow. One dorsal, occupying the pos- 

 [ terior half of the back, composed of imarticulated rays, and with a 

 \ single detached spine in front ; caudal forked ; ventrals thoracic, ru- 

 dimentary ; vent immediately behind, and closed by, the ventrals. 

 Teeth in a single row, minute, finely pectinate ; a longitudinal keel 

 on each side of the tail. Branchiostegals five ; nir-bladder large ; 

 pyloric appendages five. 



Mediterranean ; Sea of Madeira. 



