124 PEBCID^. 



53. Serranus coronatus. 



Perca guttata, Bl. t. 312. 



Sparus cruentatus, Lacep. iv. p. 157. pi. 4. f. 1. 



Serranus coronatus, Cui\ 8f Val. ii. p. 371. 



niorriculud, Cuv. 8)- Vcd. ii. p. 375 ; Guichen. in Ramon de la Sayra, 



Hist. Cuba. Poiss. p. 14. 

 guttatus, Castetnau, Animaux nouveattx, Poissans, p. 1. 



D. ^. A. |-. L. lat. 60. Csec. pylor. 6. Vert. 9/15. 



Caiidalis rounded. Denticulations of the proeoperculum very tine, 

 sometimes obsolete ; diameter of the eye one-sixth of the length of 

 the head ; length of the head not quite one-third" of the total. Pecto- 

 rals nearly reaching to the front end of the anal fin ; the upper max- 

 illary bone reaching beyond the level of the posterior margin of the 

 eye. Brownish or brown (in spirits) ; on the head constantly nu- 

 merous round whitish spots, sometimes occupying the anterior half 

 or two-tliii'ds of the body (S. nlgriculus), or obsolete on the tnmk, 

 and replaced by distant dark-brown (in life \-iolet) spots ; fins with 

 very numerous small brown spots. Back sometimes with a series of 

 three or four small, round, black spots along the base of the dorsal fin. 



Caribbean Sea ; Gulf of Mexico ; Coast of Brazil. 



a. Adult. S. America. Presented by Sir R. Schomburgk. 



b. Adult. Puerto Cabello. From Mr. Brandt's Collection. 



c. Half-groAvn. W. Indies. 



d. Half-grown : skeleton. W. Indies. 



e. Adult. W. Indies. 



/. Adult. W. Indies. From the Haslar Collection. — With only 



seven dorsal spines, 

 r/. Adult. Cuba. Presented by the Zoological Society. 

 h, i. Adult : skins. Jamaica. From Dr. Pamell's Collection. 

 Tc. Adult : skin : bad state. Trinidad. Presented by J. B. Richardson, 



Esq. 

 I, m. Adult : stuffed. W. Indies. From Mr. Scrivener's Collection. 



Var. NIGRICTTLUS. 



m. Adult. S. America. Presented by Sir R. Schomburgk. 



n-s. Adult : stiiffed. W. Indies. From Mr. Scrivener's Collection. 



Skeleton. — The skeletons of the numerous species of Serranus are 

 very similar to one another : the configuration of the bones forming 

 the roof of the skull, the opercular pieces, and the maxillarj- bone, 

 exhibit slight differences, of no importance in systematical arrange- 

 ment, and difficult to be clearly described. In this species the upper 

 part of the skull does not bear very prominent ridges ; a slight lon- 

 gitudinal crest runs from the supraoccipital to the hinder end of the 

 suture between the frontal bones, which are slightly swollen, and 

 rather elevated above the level of the occipital ; the space between 

 the orbits is slightly concave, filled up by ^wo divergent, rounded 

 ridges of the frontal bones. The maxiUary bone is widened behind, 

 with straight superior and inferior margins. The praeoperciilum is 



