102 PEUCID^. 



tral fins pointed ; dcnticiilations of preeoperculum obsolete. Brown- 

 ish, v.'ith. small whitish spots. 



Red Sea ; Isle de France : Ceylon ; Molucca Sea ; Sumatra ; Timor ; 

 Waigiou. 



a. Adult : skin. Copang (Timor). D. ^. 



b. Adult : stuffed. Isle de France. D. fi- 



c. Adult. Isle de France. From the Collection of the Zoological 



Society. D. ■^. 



d. Adult : skeleton. Isle de France. From the Collection of the 



Zoological Society. D. ^. 



e. Adult : stuffed, lied Sea. D. ^. 



14 



/. Adult. Sine patria. From the Haslar Collection. 



g. Adult: bad state. Sine patria. From the Haslar Collection, 



h. Half-grown. Ambo}Tia. Purchased of Mr. Frank. 



Skeleton. — The crown of the head and the interspace between the 

 eyes are without prominent ridges or deep grooves ; they are narrow 

 and rather flat. The supraoccij^ital and the lateral crests are rather 

 low, the former not extending beyond the supraoccipital bone. The 

 two posterior processes of the intermaxillaries are not received into 

 a common groove, but run on the sides of a narrow longitudinal 

 ridge. The posterior part of the infraorbital arch is narrow, and 

 has inside a broad excavated plate for supporting the eyeball from 

 beneath. The length of the intermaxillaiy is about two-thirds of 

 that of the maxillarj- ; it has a flat prominence beliind, above which 

 is a deep notch. The maxillary widens from its second third ; the 

 superior margin is nearly straight, the infciior concave ; the sup- 

 plementary' bone is exceedingly narrow. The opercidum has three 

 distinct flat spines, the middle of which is longest and nearer the 

 lower than the superior ; the sub- and intero])erculum are without 

 any serrature ; the pracoperculum is rounded throughout, and has 

 some very indistinct seiTature at the rounded angle. 



The dentition is rather powerful. There are in the upper jaw 

 two very strong canines ; the outer series is formed by shorter, but 

 thicker teeth than the others, and docs not extend to the extremity 

 of the bone. Inside of the canines and the series mentioned is a 

 band of vilUform teeth, broadest bcliind the canines ; and here also 

 are placed several long and slender teeth of more cardiform appear- 

 ance. The lower jaw is armed in front with a pair of canines, and 

 Avith another in the middle of its lateral band, but they are rather 

 smaller than those of tlic up])cr jaw. In tlie villiform band several 

 cardiform tcetli are visible. The vomerine teeth are arranged in two 

 series, meeting anteriorly at a rather obtuse angle. The band of 

 palatine teeth is narrow, and does not extend on the pteiygoid bone. 



There are ten abdimiinal and fourteen caudal vertebra'. The 

 interha;mal, Ls attached to the ha-mal spincss of the tenth and eleventh 

 vertebne ; it is slender, and ecjuals the length of the second to the 

 seventh vertebra. 



