413 



20. DIANA. 



JMcana, liisso, Eur. MeriiJ. iii. p. 2(57. 

 Astrodernius, {Buiu-Hi) Cm: 4" J'«/- ix- P- '^52. 



]}ody compressed, oblonj?, co^■ercd 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 unarticulated, 

 ticxible, widely-set spines ; vcntrals slender, elougate. A single 

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

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

 appendages in small number ; intestines with many circumvolutions. 



Mediterranean. 



1. Diana semilunata. 



Diana semilunata, liisso, I. c. tab. 7. f. 4. 



Astrodernius cor^-iDlucnoides, (BoitcUi) Cue. 8,- Val. ix. p. 353. pi. 270 

 (bad); Loin; Pror. Zoo!. Soc. \XAQ, p. 37, and Trans. Zoul. Sue. iii.p.7. 

 Diana vabau-ienncsii, Cairo, (iinni. iS'c. Lett. Art. Sic. F. l'^3. cum tig. 

 Astrodeiniii plunibcum, Lowe, I'roc. Zool. Soc. 1843, p. 83. 

 ^Vsti'odennus elegans, Boiiap. Faun. Hal. Pesc. cum tig. 



B. 5. D. 22-23. A. 18. V. 2/5. Ca;c. pylor. 5. 



Palate Avith 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-yellow. 



Mediterranean ; Sea of Madeira. 



The description and figure of Astrodernius elerjans, given by Bo- 

 naparte, agree so closely with the cliaracters attributed to Astroderma 

 'phmibcum 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 serrature is distinct in Bonaparte's 

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

 in length. Whether this is really a specific difference I cannot say. 



27. AUSONIA. 



Ausonia, Pisso, Pur. Mcrid. 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 jios- 

 terior half of the back, composed of unarticulated rays, and with a 

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

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

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

 on each side of the tail, liranchiostegals five ; air-bladder large ; 

 pyloric appendages five. 



Mediterranean; Sea of Madeira. 



