224 SCLERODERMI. 



examples. Ventral spine moveable. Sides blackish, with two pairs 

 of oblique whitish or yellowish bands, descending from the middle of 

 the side to the anal fin. A broad black cross band between the eyes, 

 sometimes transversely divided by bluish bands. Three blue vertical 

 lines from the eye to the root of the pectoral. Base of the caudal 

 spines black. A brownish or dull orange baud, infei'iorlj- lined 

 with blue, runs from the angle of the mouth to the pectoral. Fins 

 immaculate. 



From the West Coast of Africa to the Pacific. 



a. Adult (10 inches long). Isle of France. 



b. Half-grown : dried. Island of Johanna. Presented by Dr. 



Kirk. 



c-d. Adult aiul half-grown: skins. Zanzibar. From Lieut.-Col. 

 Playfair's Collection. 



e,f. Adult and half-grown. Zanzibar. From Lieut.-Col. Playfair's 

 Collection. 



g. Very young. West Coast of Africa. 



h. Adiilt. Moluccas. 



?'. Adult. Amboyna. Purchased of Hr. Frank. * 



/l, /, m-p. Adult and young. China Seas. 



q-s. Adult and half-grown. Pacific. From the Haslar Collection. 



t. Adult : stuffed. Feejee Islands. 



II. Adult. Micronesia. Purchased of Mr. Wright. 



V. Adult: skeleton. Seychelles. From Prof E. P. Wright's Col- 

 lection. 



w. Adult : skeleton. Mauritius. 



19. Balistes assasi. 



Balistes assasi, Fursk. Dc^cr. An. p. 75; Gm. L. i. p. 1471 ; Rupp. 



N. W. Fisch. p. 53; Ilollard, Ann. Sc. Nat. 1854, i. p. 331. 

 aculeatus, Riipp. At!, p. 27, taf. 7. fig. 1. 



D. 3 I 25. A. 22. L. lat. 40. 



Tail with three narrow l^ands of recurved spines. Twenty-three 

 scales in a transverse series running from the origin of the dorsal fin 

 to the vent. A patch of enlarged osseous plates behind the giU- 

 opening. Dorsal and anal fins rather low, with rounded profile ; 

 caudal fin convex or subtruncated. Ventral spine moveable. A 

 narrow brown streak runs from the angle of the mouth to the root 

 of the pectoral fin. Four blue cross bands between the eyes, alter- 

 nating with three black. A black vertical band descends from the 

 eye to the pectoral fin ; it is accompanied by a yeUow band in front, 

 and both are separated from each other and edged with blue. A 

 large ovate white patch on each side of the tail, traversed by the 

 black bands of spines. 



Red Sea. 

 a, b, c-e. Adult and half-grown, lied Sea. 

 /. Adult : stufted. lied Sea. 



