200 RECORDS OP THE AUSTRALIAN MUSETM. 



Body elongate aud compressed, wholl}' or partly covered vrith miuilte 

 radimeutary scales which become obsolete on the head. Head large, 

 wider than deep, opercular region swollen. Snout rounded, the upper 

 jaw longest ; mouth wide, slightly oblique, the upper lip thick and the 

 lower thin ; the jaw laterally fringed. Premaxillary teeth uniserial au- 

 terioi^ly, large and subulate, becoming abruptly smaller posteriorly ; 

 mandibular teeth similar but smaller, the posterior ones in a row which 

 curves inward ; a large canine on each side of the mandibular symphysis. 

 Tongue adnate, with a rounded tip. Anterior nosti-il in an elongate tube 

 situated at the outer angle of the snout. Eyes superior, proti^actile, 

 contiguous. Gill-opening narrow and subvertical, the isthmus wide ; five 

 branchiostegals. Fii'st dorsal with five flexible spines, one or more of 

 which may be produced into filaments ; second dorsal low with a rudi- 

 mentary spine and 26-29 rays. Anal similar to the second dorsal with 

 i/24-26 rays. Pectoral short and rounded with 13-21 rays and a strong 

 muscular base. Ventrals wholly united, with i/5 rays. Caudal cuneate, 

 with 13-15 rays of which the lower are short and muscular. Intestinal 

 canal long, with many convolutions. Vertebrae 25 (ll-j-14). 



AijhiitieK. — Scartehtos is very closel}'' allied to BoJeopJitJidlniiitt, but 

 differs in having the mandibular teeth subulate and ari'anged in a row 

 which curves inward posteriorly; the body is more elongate, and covered 

 with only minute rudimentary scales. 



In addition to the genotype, this genus includes l>oh'(>iilithah)iiiM tenula, 

 Day*, and B. ijlaHcnx, Day^. 



Habitat. — Small fishes from the litoral zone of the Indian, Malay- 

 sian and North Australian Seas, frequenting the mud-flats of tidal rivers. 



SCARTELAOS VIRIDIS, Bin-Jniuan. 



(Plate xxxii., fig. 1.) 



(lohias ririitis, Buchanan, Fish. Ganges, 1S22, pp. •1-2, 45, 366, pi. xxxii., 

 fig. 12. 



BoleopIttJidJ III lift lilstifiphorus, Cuvier & Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., xii., 

 1837, p. 210. 



BoleojilithitJiiiiix cir'nll^, Cavier & Valenciennes, IhiJ., p. 213. Id., Cantor, 

 Cat. Malay. Fish., 1850, p. 195. Id., Bleeker, Verb. Bat. Gen., xxv., 

 1853, Beng. en Hind., p. 50. Id., Giinther, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., 

 iii., 1861, p. 104. Id., Day, Fish. India, 1876, p. 307, pi. Ixvi., fig. 5. 

 Id., Waite, Rec. Austr. Miis., iv., 1902, p. 194. 



Bohoj)}tth(dmiix .s/'/mV^x, Cuvier & Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., xii., 

 1837, p. 215. 



Bolfoiihtlnil III IIS i-Jiiiiciisis, Cuvier & Valenciennes, lln'd. 



Bi)le(iphtlialiiuis aiiriijiatiiriiis, Richai'dson, Voy. " Sulphur," 1842, p. 148, 

 pi. xlii., figs. 1-2, and Rept. Ichth. China, 1846, p. 208. 



* Day— Fish. India, 1876, p. 305, pi. Ixv., fig. 1. 

 « Day— ffcit?., p. 306, pi. Ixv., fig. 3. 



