00. uuLKs. 209 



h. Large specimen : skeleton. Feejee Islands. Voyage of the Herald. 

 c-e. Adult and half-grown. Island of Ooalau (fresh waters). Voyage 



of the Herald. 

 /. Adult. Island of Ooalau (fresh waters). Voyage of the Herald. 

 (j-i. Adult. Amboyna. Purchased of Mr, Frank. 

 k. Adult. Isle dc France. Presented by the Zoological Society. 

 /. Adult. From the Collection of the Zoological Society. 



Skeleton. — This genus, or at least this species of the genus, is 

 justly considered to be a true Percoid, the bones of the .skull offering 

 all the characters of the family, although somewhat modified in form. 

 Tlie iipper part of the skull is broad, flat, slightly rounded on 

 the sides, rough, but without any prominent ridges. The occipital 

 crest is well developed, pointed behind, but does not extend on to the 

 upper surface of the skull ; the nasals are narrow, cylindrical, tubi- 

 form. The pi-ffiorbital is small, only one-third as broad as the distance 

 between the eyes, and minutely serrated on the posterior third of 

 the lower margin ; the suborbital arch is feeble, rather narrow, and 

 there is no interior plate for supporting the eyebaU. The upper 

 maxillary is rather slender, widening behind, and with a slightly 

 convex upper edge and a concave one beneath. The operculum has 

 two veiy acute spines, the terminations of two ridges at its interior 

 surface. The lower spine is much longer, and obliquely directed 

 downwards. The praeoperculum is entire behind, nearly right-an- 

 gular, and has a minutely serrated inferior margin. The suboper- 

 culum is distinguished by a deep notch in the lower limb, in front 

 of which it shows an exceedingly fine serrature. The interopercu- 

 lum has a rounded inferior margin, with some denticulations so fine 

 as to be hardly visible. The suprascapula and humerus ai'o finely 

 serrated ; the lower coracoid narrow, styliform. 



The length of the abdominal vertebral column is to that of the 

 caudal as 11 : 15 ; the first interhsemal spine is not veiy strong, equal 

 to the length of the third to the eighth vertebra, and attached to 

 the twelfth haemal spine. 



The dentition is very complete : there are vilUform bands in ])oth 

 the jaws, reaching to the extremities of the bones ; on the vomer in 

 a broad band, foiTning a right angle ; on the palatine and pterygoid 

 bones in narrow separate bands ; and, finally, in an oval patch on the 

 entopterygoid. The teeth on the phaiyngo-branchial or upper pha- 

 ryngeal bone are remarkably strong and rasp-like. 



8. Dules g^amensis. 



Cuv. &■ Val. vii. p. 474 ; Dumont iV Urville, Voii. Pvk Siul, Poiss. p. 42. 

 pl.3. fl, ' 



D,^. A.-i. 



10 10 



In habit similar to D. (cmiurus. Fins immaculate, each lobe of 

 the caudal black at the tip. ( Val.) 

 Sea of Giunn. 



